


Soul of Fire

by TrinTerrance



Category: Undertale
Genre: AU where Gaster never fell into the core, Angst, Buckle your fucking seatbelts, Cussing, Dadster, Dancing, F/F, F/M, Fate, Female Reader, Fighting, Frisk is going through a bit of an emo phase, Gaster is a badass of epic proportions, Gaster is an asshole at first, Gonna try my best to avoid typos, Here’s to true love, Magic, Passion, Possible far-future smut, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader is an artist, Reader is running from past abuse, Romance, Sansy and Paps are drop dead adorable, Slow Burn, Surface Life, Violence, come join me in the trash, first person POV, help me, planning for this to be a long fic, sort of non-skeletal gaster, soul connections, war brewing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2019-09-23 22:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrinTerrance/pseuds/TrinTerrance
Summary: It had been seven years since Monsters resurfaced, and tension between the two races was finally beginning to reach a boiling point. Y/N had just graduated college, and could barely make due with her shitty grocery store job and artsy side hobby. With attacks and riots beginning to plague the city, living alone in her run down street-level apartment was slowly becoming harder and harder to bare.But one night, upon finding herself amidst a dangerous bar fight, a tall dark stranger appears to save the day.This is how Y/N met W.D. Gaster. The man who could single handedly change everything.





	1. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First off, I always write the slowest of slow burns so if you came for a quick fic this one isn't for you <3
> 
> *Disclaimers:  
> I do not own undertale or any of it's characters. However, there are some original characters of my own creation in this book.
> 
> With all of that aside, strap in everyone.

The wind on that brisk night was nippy. It bit at my skin as I waited patiently at the traffic light. Work that night had been slow and dragging. I could recall the number of times I'd come home with tear-inducing pain from the lower back up to the shoulders. Shelf-stocking for five hours straight was and still is an underappreciated labor. But I didn't mind it too much. As long as I received my pay check by the time things were due, I was happy.

Jobs were becoming harder and harder to come by those days. The moment the first riot was announced on the news, I knew things would start changing. It was started by humans, that much I knew. As if history was repeating itself, humans had become untrusting of monsters and their magical abilities. This flame of hate was only fueled when Monsters decided to fight back against the discrimination. Monster stores stopped hiring humans, and the other way around. About a year into the tension, things had become so heated that a fight could break out at any moment, whether in a bar, at a park, even on the sidewalk. I'd seen a few myself. 

I was fresh out of college and new to the area when the problems started to arise (of course). My new apartment was hardly new, actually that place was a shit hole to be honest. There were stains on the ceiling, it smelled like mill dew, and you could hear a whisper through the walls. But I was head over heals for it. The thought of being a free and independent adult had me practically running for the city before I could kiss my past life a farewell goodbye.

Not that I wanted to. My past wasn't what you'd call a 'pleasant' one. So, if running gave me a chance to start over, then by christ I would run as far as I could until my old life was merely a dull, fading memory. 

It had been a year since I moved in, and at 23, I had already reached a solid standstill in my life. It turns out, adults have no idea what the fuck they’re doing either. We're just as clueless as everyone else. My schedule was simple and repetitive; I went to work around 3:00 PM, got out at around 9:00. Then I would walk about seven blocks down to the traffic light and cross. My apartment building was around four blocks down from there, door 14, first floor.

The loneliness hadn't really hit me until around six months in. So I ended up buying a cat and naming it Milky. She was my source of comfort for a while, since my brilliant ass decided to move myself out into a huge city where I didn't know anyone. Luckily, I did end up coming out of my shell and making some friends at work. Took a few months, but I came through. Now it was me, my best friend/coworker Krista, and Milky against the world.

With all the discrimination, the city was beginning to transform. It wasn't the beautiful Mt. Ebott city I used to know and love. Now, if you were a human that worked for a Monster (like me), chances are you'd be paid less. And the other way around. Thankfully both my boss and I were for equality, so I and my diverse coworkers were all paid accordingly regardless of our race. Despite this, I barely made due with what I got. It's one thing to struggle for a little bit but slowly being able to make your way back up. It's a whole new issue if you had struggled from the beginning, and continued to do so with no ability to get out of the hole. So I had to use my earnings wisely. I added a fair amount to my bank account, paid the bills, the rent, loans, put some aside for retirement, and then used was was left for food. There was really no room to go out and have fun, unless you were an angel like Krista and were willing to pay for half of a girls night out. Which didn't happen often since we were practically in the same situation.  

I was really at a loss for what I was going to do with my life. No one from my old life was helping me, not my family, not my old friends. I'd left it all behind. 

I graduated with art and film majors, two things that really weren't in high demand with all the shit going down in Mt. Ebott city. So, I decided I would work hard until I had enough to move out to a place where I could get a job at a studio and put my talents forth. Something, ANYTHING other than the situation was in. I had no idea how long it would take, but it needed to happen. And I was going to try my best.  

It was around 8:25 at night. My hoodie hugged my body warmly long with my work jeans and backpack. I gazed towards the wondrous lights ahead. It'd rained earlier that day. The headlights of cars reflected beams of neon light onto the pavement that looked like endless poles sticking into a void of black. Wherever I was going to live next, I wanted it to be rainy. The smells and sounds of the damp city brought be to such a state of contentment, I nearly forgot where I was.

"Hey, lady, you going?" A man beside me asked, ripping my mind back into reality. The light had turned red and the sign ahead shown a "walk" symbol.

"O-oh, yeah, thank you I was in a bit of a daze there." I flustered, speed walking ahead to avoid further conversation. _Embarrassing._

Another thing about my apartment (aside from the thousands of other issues it had), is that it was in the shady part of town. By this, I mean it was surrounded by dark alleys and nightclubs, creepy people and monsters that would dress in only-at-walmart type clothing and strut around the place looking for attention, all the while staring passerby's down like hawks. The week before, there had been a big scene about a supposed rape accusation case that had occurred in a public bathroom down one of the back alleys. There were probably many of those incidents around the area. But this was no ordinary case, oh no, it was a human/monster one. Of course. This only heated things up more. Now the area was a hot cess pool of fights, crime, and protest. Great for me, especially with the fact that I had to walk back from work ALONE every night. I had to arm my purse and backpack a taser and pepper spray just to feel mildly secure. So far though I'd done a fairly good job of avoiding getting hurt or harassed (other than the occasional catcalls I'd quickly learned to tune out in my first few weeks there). But with the way things were going, I wasn't positive I'd be able to hold that rare title for long.

I made my way down the street towards a bar I passed every weeknight. Bubbly’s. It actually wasn't that bad of bad place considering. In fact, I'd had a few drinks there before without any issues. It was always warm inside, and there was a cool monster hippy dude that would hang out near the jukebox and ramble to me about his opinion on an afterlife. 

As I made my way down, I began to hear a ruckus from inside. There was muffled yelling, the type you here before people start throwing hands and a crowd circles. My hand made it's way down to my bag, at the ready as the shouts got louder. Peering into the pink-themed lights of the pub, there was quite a scene. A huge man had a yellow cat-like monster up against the wall in a one-hand choke hold. The guy easily had two feet on a regular person led alone a short little cat creature. The match was completely uneven. People were shouting angrily from their booths and stools, even the attacker's friends were trying to intervene.

"Cut it out Donny." They yelled over the mixed protest. 

"This little pussy cat just accused of being racist!" The man yelled in a wavering tone, clearly intoxicated.

I stood at the window along with a few others, heart pounding.  _He...he's choking him..._ I stared helplessly as the little monster squirmed against the wall. At least the bar staff were behind the counter calling the police.

"G-go to hell you piece of shit. Your only showing your true colors." The cat monster gasped.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" The man spat, slamming the monster against the wall.

"Donny your fucking drunk!!" The man's friends yelled, attempting to pry him off the monster but to no avail. 

 

_What do I do...what the fuck do I do...._

 

I needed to do something. That monster was going to die. Why wasn't anyone doing anything?  _Why wasn't anyone doing anything!!!??_

 

_I can't sit back and watch..._

 

_I can't..._

 

Something within me changed in that moment. A pang in my chest, or maybe a rush of some type, I don't know. But something inside of me was urging me forward. The fear I had before was replaced with anger. A breeze blew against the cold sweat of my forehead. Why did I feel this way so suddenly? I was far from brave, a straight up _coward_ actually. I ran from my problems. Always. But...I didn't feel that way any longer. In that moment, I was...

 

_I was..._

 

**_Determined_. **

 

 

 _I need to get in there._ I thought, teeth clenching.

 

Without hesitation I found myself running down the street towards the bar opening.

 

_What are you doing Y/N..._

 

Ignore the voices. Ignore the fear.

 

I pushed the familiar bar door open, chiming a bell that turned a few heads in front of me. My body pushed past them. The bar smelled of food and sweat, a terrible combo that made my nose twitch as I pushed through the crowd and towards the center of the commotion. 

"DONNY YOUR KILLING HIM!" 

"LIKE I GIVE A SHIT!"

A few more steps and all the attention would be on me. There was a thick barrier of space between those who were too fearful to do anything, and those who were trying to pull the man away before someone got killed, which was around two or three people at the moment. And all were much smaller than him.

 My heart gave one last skip before I stepped onto the empty floor in front of everyone.

 "STOP." I yelled as hard as I could over the commotion. 

 Something about my voice caused most of the chaos to stop. Maybe it was because I had singled myself out, or maybe it was because my voice rang feminine over most of the men's shouts. 

 Attention was on me, and I was trying my god awful best to hang onto that determination I had mustered up before entering the scene. The man had turned to look at me with a glare of surprise. He looked even more intimidating up close.

"You got somethin' you wanna say?"

God. I could smell his breath from seven feet away. I could easily imagine him collapsing due to alcohol poisoning at any second.

"You're choking him right now. Think about what you're doing." I responded, my voice quivering with blanketed fear. 

The man glared mockingly before letting out a gurgley, howling laugh. It made me feel sick. "And what are you gonna do about it babe."

 _Ah...shit..._ I hadn’t thought past this part. 

"get out of here..." The cat cut in hoarsely.

I ignored him.  _Come on Y/N._

"...You’ll...” _Think..._  

“You’ll go to jail for life if not charged with a death sentence. Your drunk and fucked over, just look at yourself! Choking someone over a racial accusation?" There was that anger again. 

The moment my words reached his senses, his expression changed from a grin to a snarl. Quickly. _S_ _hit._

The man dropped the cat monster from his grip, letting him crumble to the floor in a coughing fit. Bar staff and bystanders rushed to his aid.

But now I was the center of focus for this guy. He began walking towards me until he had me up against the other side of the bar. Where were the police? And what the hell was I thinking?

At least the little guy was free...

"You know, a pretty little thing like you should't be putting herself in harms way like that." He said grabbing my chin with brute force.

A few people tried to stop him, but this man was unmovable. His breath smelled of potent alcohol that made my head reel in agony. His teeth glistened through a gruesome snarl, sending chills down my spine. All of my courage had been drained, and what was left was a burning sensation in my stomach and a loss of all functions. 

But before he could make another move, I felt a surge of energy inside of me. Like a flame reigniting itself. Now, I had never EVER been the type to use physical contact in bad situations. But tonight seemed to be the special night that my brilliant brain just _wanted_ me to fuck myself over. So tonight I had a pass.

I smacked his hand away with force, kicking him as hard as I could in the groin and looking for an opening in the crowd as everyone gasped in shock. The man let out a painful groan, backing away in a hunched position. Either I'd gotten him real good, or men were even more sensitive in that region than I'd anticipated. Either way, this was a break and I needed to book it before the night got any worse.

Spotting a break in the crowd, I tried to make a run for it but was immediately swept off my feet my a strong arm, knocking me senseless. 

"YOUR GONNA PAY FOR THAT, STUPID BITCH!"

Everything had erupted into yells and curses. A few more people tried to shove him away, but he'd already gotten a solid grip on my sweater. The man lifted me up by the collar of my hoodie, raising a fist behind him. I gasped, struggled in his grasp, punching, kicking, none of it phased him. _None of it._

When this reality became painful clear, I braced myself, holding a single breath.

  _shit. shit. shit._ _shit._

“NOT SO CONFIDENT NOW YOU LITTLE-“ 

....

....

 

.......

 

Nothing happened. 

 

 

My eyes flew open as I felt myself crumbling to the ground. The feeling of his grip on my hoodie had gone. I looked around frantically, trying to see what the hell happened. More gasps.

_What the..._

_..._

Everything around me seemed to have stopped as I gazed forward. All the commotion was muted. Near me now stood an incredibly tall monster in a black long coat, skinny grey work jeans and sleek black shoes. Wind from the opening moved the bottom of his coat around gracefully as he stood straight, motionless.

I had never, in my time of knowing and frequently seeing monsters bustling throughout Ebott city, seen anyone like him. Usually monsters had a similar classification, such as a cat-like monster, and elemental, an aquatic, or even a ghost. But him? He looked closer to a skeleton (which at this point didn't feel very weird to say, since monsters themselves where no longer fairy tales and urban legends to the human race). The man's pale white tone, missing nose and deep black eyes were what may have led one to think such. The rest of him though, build wise at least, looked quite human. Smooth-looking skin, and a regular male build that was noticeable even under his long coat. From the back of his skull ran down some cracks, like scars, and a gaping hole in each of his hands that went all the way through (woah). He had a defined look with a jawline and eyes that gleamed bright like lanterns against a misty night. His expression was emotionless, concentrated.

There was no denying that this was a handsome monster.

In front of skeleton-guy stood the man from before, surrounded by a field of purple magic, restricting his movement and most likely his ability to speak as well. He looked completely shocked, as if whatever had happened had happened swiftly and silently, he hadn't expected it at all. My breath faltered in exasperation and surprise at the sight. I had only seen magic preformed a few times in public since there were so may rules and regulations about it. But never anything that powerful. Never anything that _fucking cool_.

 

Wait a second.

 

_Did..._

_Did that guy just...save me?_

 

"Are you uninjured?" The stranger asked suddenly, glancing my way.

His voice was smooth and low, again not like any voice I'd heard before. And it suited him.

Sirens broke the silence, echoing off of buildings in the distance. I rubbed my head, trying my best to stop the overflow of thoughts and feeling in my brain.

 “Uhm, yeah I'm alright, did you-"

"Go then."

I blinked in surprise.

"Wh-"

"Leave. Before the police get here."

I felt that pulse in my chest, the same one I had felt before I’d gotten myself involved in the incident. _What the hell is that...._ I thought, moving my hand over my heart unknowingly.

I glanced back at him for a moment. Tall dark guy was still facing the attacker, seemingly unable to move from his concentrated position. He was most likely going to restrain the attacker until the police arrived, which was soon. 

"O-okay...thank you for your help back there..." I really would have wanted to meet the guy and give him my most sincere thanks, but there was no time. I grabbed a chair sitting beside me and hauled myself up with all the might I still had. My legs and ribs were bruised somehow, making the walk towards the door all the more painful. I thought I saw the stranger glance back at me once more as I left the bar, sirens now blaring behind my trail of confusion.

 

\---------

 

There was nothing like a cold moist night in Mt. Ebott city. My hands were having spasms by the time I finally reached the apartment building. I fumbled with the keys for an unnecessary amount of time, then broke through the door, verbally thanking god for my apartments’ complementary winter heating, the only real upside to living there. 

I avoided looking at myself in the mirror for fear of fainting seeing how shitty I looked. All I wanted to do was bathe, patch up, and get as much sleep as possible before work the next day.

I’d always thought that if someone were to go through something bad, like getting beat up and mugged in an alley or something like that, they’d be able to bounce back pretty easily with lots of rest and maybe some guided meditations. 

Wrong. Incorrect.

I spent two hours tossing and turning before I gave up on sleep all together. So I let my mind wonder.

 

_Wonder what happened to that cat monster..._

_Hope he made it out alright._

_That drunken lunatic is lucky he didn’t end up killing someone. That's a life sentence right there. Now he’ll probably just plead his case by claiming that he was too drunk to think. He’ll get six years prison time tops, then they’ll set him free to reek more havoc, the bastards._

_What about that other guy though...that was pretty out of the blue. Hadn’t seen him in the bar before he showed up, maybe he was standing in the crowd? No...no he’s too tall. Too unique looking._

I sighed. Something about that man had been bothering me. It was nothing bad, just something I’d never felt towards a stranger before. A sort of.....

Curiosity.

I wanted to know more about the man who'd saved my ass back at the bar.

 

_Eh. Might as well stop dwelling on it. I’ll probably never see him again._

 

Boy was I wrong. 


	2. The Idea

The next day started off slow. Thankfully work began later in the day so I had plenty of time to sleep in, but the migraines were endless. By the time I managed to drag myself from bed to get ready, I’d already taken at least two Asprins to sooth the pain. Too bad they took an hour or so to kick in.

After sitting at my coffee table for a few minutes contemplating my life decisions, I gathered my purse and backpack, and stuffed the three-days-without-wash uniform inside along with pepper spray and an instant ramen lunch (as per usual).

 _Today is a new day._ I thought, taking a breath and locking the door.

 

As as I made my way up the street, I noticed caution tape waving in the distance near the bar scene from the night before. Of course they’d be investigating. As far as I knew, despite all of the violence in the city, there hadn’t been many if any real deaths caused by a racist attack like that. As far as anyone was concerned, this really was the first close death caused by the growing divide between monsters and humans. It was downhill from there.

 

”Y/N, your not allowed to be late. That’s my job.” I heard Krista yell from the back of the lounge as I set my stuff in my locker. I laughed.

”I'll play the reverse card today. Migraines have been killing me since this morning.”

Krista sat down with a coffee, motioning for me to join her. 

“Ah, then let us waist time and be completely late together.”

I nodded in agreement, stealing a sip from her drink absentmindedly. 

“Uh dude, did you have a rough night? I mean your late, your stealing  _coffee,_ something no one ever steals from anyone, and you have bags under your eyes. What’s the tea here.”

_Ha! If only she knew._

I shook my head, forcing a yawn. “Nothing really, just couldn’t sleep last night.” 

She glared at me with a pitiful expression. “That...was the most pathetic excuse for a lie I have ever seen, Y/N."

I snorted at her fake-serious tone. "Jesus, why are your expectations of me so high? You sound like a disappointed mother."

At this point I just wanted to the steer the conversation away from what had happened the night before. But I should've known off the bat that Krista wouldn't have that.

"Something happened last night." She prodded. "And you are telling me."

 

Krista had always been like that. She was nice and sort of outgoing, a great best friend, but on the inside she could read you like a book with one glance. It was almost like a superpower. Sometimes when the boss would hire newcomers, she’d look at them, then lean over and whisper what she thought their lives were like to me based on their appearances. She never said anything rude or judgmental of course, just random things she thought like what type of house/apartment they had, or if they had kids. Then she’d say “bet.” and drag me over to talk to them and see if she was right. She usually was. 

 

“Uhm...”

She leaned forward curiously. 

“It’s a guy isn’t it.”

_What?_

“What? No...no no. It’s not...I mean...it’s not but it is...I don’t know.” I sighed. “All in all I had a rough night, that’s all there is to say.”

Part of me took comfort in knowing that I could tell her, but another part didn’t want to push the subject. 

“You can’t fucking leave me hanging like that!” She whined. “I've already squeezed that much out of you. I’m no snitch, nor cock block, you know that. Whatever it is you can trust me.”

I winced. Her sensual side comments still caught me off guard. Every time.

”Look it’s nothing sexual, you can cross that one off on your little list.” I said, annoyed. She grinned.

”Alright alright. I'm all ears sister.”

 _I guess telling only her would be fine._ She was the only one other than Milky that would listen to my rambles after all.

“Ok. Fine. So basically, while I was walking home from work last night, I passed through that one little risky part of town, you know, with the clubs and bars and prostitutes.”

”mhm.”

I explained everything to her in a semi brief summary, leaving out some detail like how cute the tall guy was because I knew she would ask me about that afterwards. 

As I finished, Krista sat there for a few moments, processing the info with a bewildered look. 

“You...you...okay hold on.” She said, putting a hand out. “Your telling me you stopped an bar fight and stood up to a guy who was ten times bigger than you to save a monster, then got saved by some tall knight in shining armor who froze the guy in a force field of magic and likely turned him in after telling you to leave before police got there? Holy hell!” She laughed. “You really did have a night!”

I sat back, exasperated. “Yeah...I know. I still haven’t really processed it honestly.”

She lifted an eyebrow teasingly. “Aside from all the crazy shit though, what about the guy that saved you? Was he cute??”

_Aaaand there she goes._

I sighed, smiling. Good ol' Krista. “Of course you ask that, of all possible things.”

”Well??!!”

”Ugh. He was good looking alright? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

”Did he have a jawline? What did he look like?”

”Yes, Krista, he had a jawline. He looked like some type of skeleton monster with a long black coat, kind of like the one Spider Man Noir wears (Krista was obsessed with Marvel). Want me to sign your wedding vows?”

She burst out laughing, almost forcefully. ”Oh no, no, no, dear Y/N, you misunderstand. My only mission in life is to find Y/N L/N a man, and I believe we have a good candidate here. Plus I’m feeling that big dick energy, if you know what I’m saying.”

I nearly spit out the coffee. Krista was in tears. “SHUT UP!” I laughed between chokes. 

Despite Krista’s occasional pushiness, I really appreciated her. About four months into the job we’d managed to gain a pretty stable friendship, and it only grew stronger when we began supporting each other and shopping. A few times I’d thought we should move in together and be roommates, but a part of me kind of liked being as independent as I was. So I never brought it up.  

The rest of the day up until lunch went pretty normally aside from Krista and I getting a strike for being late on the job. Yes, it was a strict work environment.

Around our lunch break, Krista, Glassy (one of our gay monster friends) and I were at our usual table conversing about random shit. Glassy decided to turn on the lounge TV for background noise, as he usually did. 

The TV flickered onto the news, and it only took me a few moments before I realized what they were talking about.

 

_“Last night, as many may know, a fight broke out at a bar on Evanson Street. This video was released to us anonymously from the incident.”_

A video proceeded to play from the perspective of someone in the crowd. I gaped at the screen, tapping Krista's shoulder and pointing up.

 ”Holy fuck...is that...” 

I nodded. 

Glassy looked at us suspiciously as we gazed up unbelieving, then sighed and left for the bathroom.

  _”Here we have a man who seems to be choking a monster victim. The reasons for this attack are still unknown, but police are currently holding the attacker in custody.”_

My heart sunk as the video rolled and I came into view.

  _“A young woman then enters and seems to be trying to stop the fight, drawing the attention to herself. This woman fled the scene before authorities could question her.”_

The video ended.

_“After the anonymous sender stopped videotaping, another man then interrupted the fight and used magic to restrain the attacker from causing further harm. W.D. Gaster, a monster scientist,_ _was questioned on scene after stopping and restraining the man who nearly choked someone to death, but left no comment with the acceptation of his name and occupation. Many thanks go out to those who helped stop the fight from escalation. We now move to...”_

They then proceeded to go to a witness. 

 

“W.D. Gaster.” mumbled. 

_I swear I’ve heard that name before..._

“Jesus.” Krista said quietly. I looked over at her.

”Well...there you have it, last night in a nutshell.” I responded uneasily. We glared at each other telepathically for a moment.

”Uhm...did I miss something?” Glassy chimed in as he returned from the bathroom.

_Thank god he left._

”O-oh no. No. It’s just, that attack was pretty crazy.”

“Heh, yeah. Not like it’s anything new though.” He snorted.

”Yeah...touché.” I responded quietly, glancing back at Krista, who was now fixated on her phone. I scooted my chair in to see what she was doing. 

“Look.” She said, pointing at a picture of the skeleton-looking guy on google search. “This guy that saved you, W.D. Gaster, turns out he’s like a renowned scientist in the monster world, like, the best of the best. And damn what a specimen, you weren’t kidding.” She exclaimed excitedly. 

“Gimme that.” I said, snatching her phone and reading his biography. Lived in Mt. Ebott city, created the core that’s mechanics were now used to power the whole city (woah once again), engineer, soul study, magic. That was about all I got out of it. There wasn’t much else on him at all. 

“Huh.” I handed the phone back.

_Must be a private guy._

 

I came home that night after taking a major detour around the area where things had gone down the night before. If that brawny guy had friends, I was positive they were out to get me. I’d have to lay low for at least a few weeks before things cleared up.

After leaving my uniform at the apartment-building dry cleaners, I made my way to my room and stayed up watching the news for a while, probably not the best thing I could have done. All they ever talked about were the attacks. Never the good stories, like a blind kid seeing for the first time, or a fund raiser reaching its goal. Just the negative news. It was really tiring. But my thoughts soon drifted, causing the scripted sounds of new anchors to blur into the back of my mind so I could really think. There had been a reoccurring idea since seeing myself on the news earlier that day. 

I now knew a pretty good sum of information about that Gaster dude, completely by accident of course. But I never had the chance to really thank him.

 

_Maybe...maybe I should?_

 

The thought surprised me when it first came to mind. I never really reached out to people. But then again, I had that burning curiosity about him. It couldn’t be too weird to seek someone who saved you like that, right? I found the place he worked on google, it was called the Society for Research and Sciences. SRS. Surprisingly, it was a bit far from where I lived which made me question how’d he’d actually come to be at the bar that night. But that didn’t really matter.

 _I could go on my off day,_ (which was in a couple of days)  _Take a cab across the city and thank him in person._ I thought.

_Wouldn’t hurt, right?_

 

 


	3. Halfbreeds and Nightclubs

The days following up to my two-day break were pretty routine. I slept in, went to work, came home late and took the detour on the way, showered, fed Milky, watched YouTube till two in the morning, slept, repeat. My off days were Friday and Saturday, so I knew I’d probably be able to catch this Gaster guy at work before the weekend, that is if he didn’t have the same offdays as me. Which was unlikely.

It was Thursday night. I was sitting up in bed on my phone as usual, reading an article about halfbreed children.

**_Halfbreeds_ **

**_About a year after the resurfacing of monsterkind to the human world, the first monster/human hybrid was born. The father was a green fish type monster, and the mother was light skinned human woman. Contrary to most predictions that the child would be deformed or still born due to inter-species breeding, the hybrid turned out just fine. It looked human, and had green scales like it’s father. No developmental problems were reported._ **

**_After this child was born, many followed. Though many wonder how these species crosses came to be. Is there magic involved? Is it just biological?_ **

**_The answer to these questions is a practice that monsters call Soul Bonding. During a regular sexual process, monsters usually_** _**develop a soul-connection. Since monsters are made up of mostly magic and soul energy, this process combines two souls involved to create a new soul. Little is known of this process. But we do know that it is a very special occurrence, symbolizing the joining of two souls that will most likely spend the rest of their lives together.** _

 

_Wow...that’s amazing..._

 

 _**No one knew such a thing could work between a monster and a human, since humans are** _ _**less connected to their souls than monsters are. But the prospects of magic and souls were unfathomable before the appearance of monsters. As we have learned from Ambassador Frisk, who brought monsters back from the underground, that humans have many magical/soul related capabilities that had** _ _**been forgotten for thousands of years since the Great War. So a Soul Bond between the two different species doesn’t seem too far fetched.** _

_**Now with young hybrids/halfbreeds walking the streets of Mt. Ebott city and several other monster populated areas around the world, our society has begun to change. The joining of our species is creating a new kind. A combination of strong will power and magical ability that may populate the entire earth in the far future. Scientists predict-** _

__

The buzz of my phone caught my attention. I pulled it from the bedside table.

 

Text from: **Side Chick**

_Krista._

I checked the time. 

“1:04 in the morning.” I sighed. The only reason she’d be up that late was either because she was out partying or got drunk at a bar and needed a ride. 

I opened my phone

 

**Side Chick:**

**sup b**

 

I chuckled.

 

**Y/N:**

**Out partying again, I thought we talked about this??**

 

**Side Chick:**

**lmao that was like 2 weeks ago and ur not my mom, let a girl have her fun**

 

She sent a selfie, neon lights and stripper poles bluring in the background.

 

**Y/N:**

**Its not safe out there anymore, you know that. Whatever though, we’ll**   **talk about it later. What’s up?**

 

**Side Chick:**

**whatevur u say.** **but yeah we haven’t gone shopping in like hundreds of years, wanna meet at the mall tomorrow?**

**Y/N**

**Ehh I would but I’ve got a thing tomorrow, how’s Saturday?**

 

**Side Chick:**

**what?**

 

**Y/N:**

**What?**

 

**Side Chick:**

**no no, it’s just , you never have a thing. ever. what’s the thing?**

 

**Y/N:**

**Its nothing just a little trip to say thank you to someone.**

 

**Side Chick:**

**hahaha I knew it**

**Y/N:**

**What?**

 

**Side Chick:**

**your going to see him huh? definitely explains why you were so interested in that place he worked when we looked him up.**

 

I nearly dropped my phone.  _So now she can read minds through text? Great._

**Y/N:**

**How the fuck do you figure?!**

 

**Side Chick:**

**lol my radar is always up, and your super obvious. you should work on that.**

 

**Y/N:**

**Fine you got me. But it’s just to say thanks, he did me a big favor and it just makes sense to go thank him for it.**

 

**Side Chick:**

**whatever you wanna call it boo. you go get that** **man of yours,** **I’m rooting for you.**

 

_Why does she do this to me..._

 

**Y/N:**

**Look it’s not like that at all, and you aren’t** **convincing** **me otherwise. Now are we on for Saturday or what? Because I need a decent time frame to kick your ass for making me this flustered over a stranger."**

 

**Side Chick:**

**hahaha alright alright calm ur tits, I’ll leave it to fate to decide. consider us on for Saturday, meet me at 7 PM, normal spot. I gtg now**

 

**Y/N:**

**Alright cool. Don’t do drugs, ttyl.**

 

**Side Chick:**

**of course not, you know me ;) love you bye! <3 <3**

 

**Y/N:**

**Love you too bye.**

 

I took a deep breath and closed my phone, letting the darkness of my apartment consume me. Milky, who’d been sleeping at the foot of my bed, got up and stretched. She then made her way over to my side, laying her chin on my stomach sleepily. I smiled and stroked her head. 

“What would I do without you, huh?”

Milky purred in response. The sounds of the city hummed quietly through the old windows along with a breeze from the vents. I could see my TV lights blinking and the sheets in front of me with the faint but colorful glow of pub signs and neon lights through the curtains. A few cars passed by, ripping through puddles from a recent rain.

The air was still and my sheets were now warm with the company of my cat. I adjusted the pillows and settled down, burying myself in the feeling of safety, which was becoming more and more uncommon the longer I spent in that apartment. 

 

Hopefully it would all change soon. 


	4. Eselin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesus u guys are tackling me with the support, thank you!
> 
> Aight I'm done, lets jump in.

The next day rolled around quickly, almost without warning. By ten in the morning I was pacing the floor, wondering if my confidence had gotten the better of me once again. Seemed to be a pretty common occurrence as of recently. And it wasn't like I could just not go. Krista knew about the whole thing, she'd probably drag my ass all the way to the science building with her if she found out I chickened out.

What the hell was I supposed to do? Travel all the way up there, ask for him at the workplace, say thanks, then leave? There wasn't really another way to do it, the idea just felt a bit foreign to me. No one did things like that anymore. Not in those days. Hell, I'd never even said hello to my next door neighbor. Then again, I didn't need to. I could hear everything they said and did through the walls.

But that didn't matter. I just needed to go out, find him, say a quick thanks, maybe grab some food on the way back. No big deal.

Telling myself that didn't make me any less nervous though.

 _What would Krista do..._ I thought, leaning on the light wood of my coffee table, early sun beams casting onto the floor behind me.

_Probably have an anxiety attack, then smoke a joint before getting in the taxi._

I laughed at the thought. She'd catch a glimpse of the guy, rip her shirt off in front of everyone, confessing her undying love, then get dragged out halfassedly by security, never to return again.

Yep, that's what Krista would do.

I sighed. No one was holding me back but me.

 _Just go for it. It'll be fine._ I nodded to myself.

 

The sound of Milky meowing behind me caught my attention. I turned towards her. She was perched gracefully between the ruffled sheets of the bed, her grey fur outlined with the window's light.

"What is it baby?"

She let out another whine. I thought for a moment.

"Oh shit your right, forgot to feed you! Sorry!"

I speed walked into the kitchen and retrieved her food can from the fridge. Milky was wonderful company, and my second source of therapy aside from Krista. But damn was that cat a picky eater. I had to buy her a special (expensive) canned brand gravy-mixture and cap it to use it later. Every drop counted. Milky wouldn't eat anything else. But when you love someone enough, you'll go out of your way for them to be happy. So I did that for her.

"Here Milky." I chimed after pouring her bowl and tapping a spoon on the side of the food can.

Her padded feed scampered across the floor and into the kitchen with craze. I smiled, kneeling down and stroking her back.

“I’ll be back soon, guard the apartment okay?”

She turned to me and flicked her ears in a ‘yes of course’ kind of way. 

“Alright, later.”

 

———

 

“Where to miss?” The taxi driver asked as I hopped in. I noticed his appearance immediately. An orange-reddish scaled fish like monster, with a subtle resting grin and a black hoodie. Around my age. Not your typical taxi driver.  
  
”The Society for Reasearch and Sciences please.”  
  
He nodded and began driving. It was a few minutes before he spoke again.  
  
”You know,”  
  
I looked up from my phone.  
  
“I’ve been getting a lot of people wanting to go there after that bar fight a few days ago.”  
  
My heart began beating. Did he recognize me from the news? It didn’t seem like it...  
  
“Don’t worry lady. Your secrets with me. I see a lot of people like you in my job. Good and bad. They do something and end up on the news for a bit, getting that unneeded publicity. I can definitely recognize a face. But I’ll speak of it no more. Ya look a bit nervous right now.”  
  
I was. During those past few days I had gotten some stares, but never been verbally called out. The man seemed chill, though. There was no need to freak out.  
  
”Ah...thank you. I appreciate your understanding.” I said uneasily.  
  
“Heh. Likewise. Some people really freak out when I bring those things up. It’s really just a confirmation. Anyways like I was saying a lot of people have been catching rides to this place your going to. And I’m talking a lot of people, way more than usual. And mostly humans.”  
  
”Really?” Now I was genuinely curious. “Why? I mean I was just going to meet someone there.”  
  
“Yeah. I guess it was for some revolt against the place. Many of them were saying they thought this place the “SRS” or whatever it’s called, is just a cover up. They think Monsters and ‘Monster-loving freaks’ are using the building to plot against ‘sane humans’ and experiment with magic illegally.” He explained.  
  
_So more protest then._    
  
“Wow. You really get the gossip of the city with this job, huh.”  
  
He laughed. “You bet I do.”  
  
  
  
Driving across town through jam-packet traffic took a good hour and a half if not more. Living in the city, you really kind of lost your sense of distance. So many people got around by taxi and Uber instead of owning their own cars (like me). So it was safe to say I was a bit surprised at how long the drive took. At least it gave me more time to clear my mind and think about things. 

  
Eselin, the driver, was actually pretty cool despite his first impression. He picked up some people for later drop off, and we talked for around half the time about the shit going down in the city. Later on I guess he got the hint that I needed some time to think. So the conversation died down and I put my headphones in, listening to my favorite music as the world passed by.  
  
  
  
“Looks like we’re here. Didn’t even need to punch it into the GPS, I know the rout like the back of my hand.” Eselin exclaimed as we pulled up to a large, and honestly beautiful looking building. I laughed at the remark, getting out with my bag and paying him through the window.  
  
”Thanks, see you again sometime.”  
  
“Yeah no prob. Till next time.” He said cooly, then driving off.  
  
I turned toward the building entrance, taking another deep breath.  
  
_Just a quick thanks. Maybe I'll go grab some dim sum afterwards._

 

The building itself looked intimidating enough without all of the social anxiety pulsing through my head. It was fucking huge. There were wide glass doors, floors that gleamed white with huge tile slabs, the building itself was a good eight stories high, and all of it was practically swimming with qualified and hardworking people of all shapes and sizes.

 Then there was little me, standing in the entrance, marveling at all of it. If I had gone to college and studied some highly respectable science major, this was probably the place everyone would recommend for internship. It had ‘we only accept 4.5 adverage GPA students’ written all over it.

I tightened my grip around my bag and proceeded inside, scanning the area for a near reception desk until locking eyes on one near me.

“Please hold one moment,” the receptionist chimed into her cord phone as she noticed me approaching. “How may I help you?”

“Uhm, hi, I’m looking for W.D. Gaster, do you know if he’s here today?” I asked, smiling awkwardly.

“Oh, yes I believe so.”

“Do you know where his office is?”

“Hmm…” she searched through some papers. “That’ll be lab 17, 6th floor.”

 

 _Lab 17. 6th floor._  

 

“Okay cool, thanks!” I beamed, fast-walking rather pointlessly towards the elevator.

“You’re welcome!”

The door of the elevator opened slowly on the 6th floor, revealing a huge, buzzing clutter of labs rooms and offices. Scientists and interns were easily recognizable by their flowing white coats, black gloves, and goggles. Just your typical Rick from Rick and Morty type look. 

The smell in the air was the only thing that didn’t catch me too off guard about the place. It heavily caffeinated, with a hint of sanitation and chemicals. Just what I had imagined it to be. What a place to work.

I looked down at myself, knowing that I stood out completely in jeans, a zip up jacket, and a fucking rock band T-shirt. I needed to find this guy. Quickly.

 _Lab 17...lab 17…_ My eyes scanned from door to door. _There._ I weaved my way past the chaotic activity toward a large door labeled _Lab 17 Dr. W.D Gaster_.

 

_Ah...here goes..._

 

My hand curled to the door and I knocked. It took a few moments before it finally opened.

“Yes…” The tall man asked in a notoriously deep tone, looking down at me. It was really him. W.D. Gaster. He opened the door just enough to reveal his full form. He looked just as tired as before, that was for sure. And those scars...

I hadn't seem them close enough to evaluate just how bad they were until actually facing him.

 _Pretty serious injuries_.

I wondered what had happened to him.

 

But aside from everything else, holy shit. This man was tall. Of course this was noticeable at the bar, but up close he had a good three feet on me. Even while standing six feet apart from his doorway.

“Uhm, you might recognize me.” I said, swallowing my creeping anxiety for the 15th time.

Gaster looked me up and down. “Yes, from the bar incident. Might I ask why you are here?”

My fingers tightened around the bag once more. “Oh, well what you did for me…no one else was willing to do. I wanted to thank you for your help, without it I would have been dead shit back there,” I laughed, instantly regretting the little cuss my brain decided to throw in there. But he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he looked more taken aback by my being there more than anything else.

“There is no need to thank me. I was simply passing by and saw the need to intervene.” He explained shortly. “I appreciate your consideration, however I must get back to work now.” 

Gaster began to close the door but my hand flew forward to stop it.

“Wait,”

“What?” 

“Look, I know you have work to do, and I’m sorry for taking up your time." I took a breath. "Look, don't take this the wrong way sir, but it doesn’t seem like you jump in and save people often. So...why that night? Why at that bar?”

He looked at me for a moment, as if choosing his words very carefully. But before he could answer, a race of footsteps caught our attention.

 

“Dr. Gaster!” A slim monster ran up beside me.

“What is it Eon?”

“It’s the protesters. They’ve gathered a huge group and they’re trying to get in on the first floor. It’s really bad down there.”

I thought for a moment. _Shit, that’s what all those taxi rides were planning for? A group gang up on this place?_  And the fact that all of it was happening right there and then? Guess it was to be expected given how my luck had been in the past.

“ _Fuck…”_ Gaster mumbled. “Eon, get everyone together. We are closing early today.”

The younger scientist nodded, running off. 

Gaster glanced down at me with an expression I couldn’t read. “Follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know a lot is going on but keep the Taxi driver Eselin in mind. He’s going to be very important later on.


	5. Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DETIRMINATION

Gaster's lab coat flowed behind him as I followed hurriedly.

 

 _Jesus christ..._ I thought trying my best to keep up with his quick-strode pace.

 

Smells of a seemingly unused hallway hit me as we rounded a corner. I had followed him towards a separate exit, wondering what had happened so suddenly on the first floor given that things were just fine a few minutes before I spoke with Gaster. Although the rest of it added up, it really would have taken a sudden flash mob to begin causing a ruckus of that description. Had they been marching down the street? Hiding among passerbys? Hell if I knew.

 

But I couldn’t help but feel deeply displaced about the whole situation. Like how the main character in a horror movie might feel as the camera pans around to reveal a horrifying form standing directly behind them in complete silence. Something...something just wasn’t right about all of the sudden protest.

 

I tried my best to push the feeling away by instead focusing on the frame art we passed through each hallway. The building had a very strange layout, almost like it had formerly been a hotel. Doors were lined up side by side, mostly numbered, with metal engravings and signs that signified an office or a lab room. Then among these endless hallways were little mini kitchens with coffee machines and fridges. Come to think of it, the room where W.D. Gaster’s office was located was by far the most unique room I’d seen on the floor.

 

Gaster stopped in front of an elevator door, pressing a button and waiting. The scientist’s arms folded behind him formally, but his calm mask was interrupted by his figures as they twiddled rapidly. I wondered if he felt the bad energy too.

 

The elevator made a ‘ding’, and it’s metal doors soon opened to reveal two staff members ready to walk out. They stood there for a moment, trading glances then staring at Gaster and I as we stood aside for them.

 

 _Is he really this important?_ Everyone we had passed was physically surprised at the sight of us...

 

Realization suddenly hit me.

I mentally flicked myself.

 

Of course they were staring. The whole incident in which we met had been caught on camera and shown publicly to thousands of monsters and people in and outside of the city. I was so distracted by everything else that I’d completely forgot.

 

I felt my face beginning to heat up as the employees finally left the scene. Gaster lead me in, paying no mind to the reaction. _God. I’m an idiot._ My hand made its way to the hood of my jacket I flipped it over my head, pulling the strings gingerly.

 

“Hey, um, where exactly are we going…?” I asked matter-of-factly as the need for another distraction struck my mind.

Gaster stilled, glancing back. “The back entrance. Protesters will most likely recognize you if you try to leave the main way.”

 

Part of me found it a bit annoying how he seemed to always answer things so simply. It was something I noticed busy people did a lot, a habit they must have picked up after having to deal with many issues at the same time. But I understood. Past the walls of a guarded, strictly professional being, was usually a warm personality that hadn’t seen the sun in a while. All it took was a little time and trust, and the icy barriers would soon melt away to reveal the true nature of the person/monster.

 

The man standing in front of me was one of these no doubt. But I didn’t know nearly enough about him to decipher whether or not he was a good guy inside as well as out. Though I assumed so given how he had been acting so far.

 

I nodded at his statement. “Yeah. Thank you for the guidance. This place is a maze.”

Gaster hummed in response, and I didn’t expect the conversation to go any further on his part. But he surprised me.

 

“I...have a question for you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him with curiosity. “O-okay, shoot.”

“What is your knowledge of souls?”

That question caused me to do a double take. _Knowledge of souls? Why…_

“I mean, not that much really. It’s mostly just some crap I’ve come across on the internet. Most of it probably isn’t true. But...why of all things would you ask that?” I laughed.

Gaster hesitated. “...Just curiosity. I have a degree in the field.”

_Welp. Seems like this guy is as bad a liar as I am._

“That can’t be the only re-” Before I could finish the doors unfolded to a commotion outside.

 

_What the…_

 

We stepped out, scanning a scene of semi-panic. Workers and scientists were running through the area, yelling commands and stuffing files into unlocked safes. Papers were practically flying through the air like it was the last fucking day of school.

 

Gaster stood there, dumbfounded, having clearly not seen a commotion of that scale around his work place before. I looked around for a clear exit, but all were blocked off by chairs and heavy boxes to keep intruders out. Now things were boarding on illegal. Peaceful protest was a right to all citizens, but the government had made it crystal clear that if any violence, vandalization, or trespassing were to occur during one of these protests, there would be strict lawful punishment to all those involved in the heist.

 

I heard Gaster call out to one of his co workers. “Delena, what is the meaning of this?”

A short young woman hobbled up to us, panting. “I’m sorry sir…huh…they’ve...huhh...they…they have guns…huhuh...and they...one of them...huh...shot through the lobby...huh….windows…”

I blinked. Excuse me, **_SHOT_ ** through the windows?

 

 That’s two racism-related attacks that I’d been involved in now. Did I get a prize at three?

 

The scientist stood up straight, rubbing his temples. “Did you seal all entrances? Call law enforcement?”

“Yes...yes sir...huh...we’re just waiting on them to arrive now...”

 

Gaster, in a complete fluster, ended up sending me with Delena (who was kind of like Gaster's apprentice I guess?). She led me to her office, saying that it would most likely be a couple of hours if not more before anyone would be able to leave the building. Thankfully this was only because shots had been fired, not because anyone had actually been hurt, which was a definite relief.

 

Delena’s appearance (a human woman around my age with nicely done-up hair, dyed pink, and a NASA shirt in addition to her lab uniform) didn’t warrant that her office space would be an anime sanctuary with body pillows, and open chip bags lying everywhere. So I was a little surprised upon entering.

 

Whoever she was, she’d definitely spent a fair portion of her life worshiping some pretty nerdy shit. All the walls and even a bit of the ceiling in the tight space were covered in posters and drawings from countless shows and books. I recognized some of it myself. There was also a huge ground-level couch and a flat screen TV sitting in front of it. _Sweet._ A window behind two partly drawn shades shown the evening sun setting behind some tall buildings in the distance.

 

“Uh, hehe, sorry for the mess…” she said, scratching her neck nervously. I stared forward, observing every detail. “I never clean up around here, I mean I don’t really have to since I only get a few visitors per month, most I know personally. But um...please make yourself at home there’s candy in the cabinet over there, and um popcorn and ramen in the one next to it. Drinks in the fridge. The TV is pretty easy just use the apple TV remote, I have netflix and hulu and all of that.”

 

I stared a little longer.

 

“Uhh...sorry I know it really is messy-”

“Delena…”

“Wh-”

“This.” I turned to her with a smirk. “This is fucking AMAZING! Where did you find all of this stuff??!”

“O-oh…” she began to laugh. “I thought you were like morally disgusted or something...to which I wouldn't have been surprised...”

 

We burst out laughing, and I began breaking down how deep into that shit I’d been back in highschool.

 

“Death Note started it all for me.” I explained, jabbing thumb at a huge poster on the wall next to her computer.

 

“ME TOO!” She squeaked.

 

We continued to to fangirl about all the things we were into until she finally had to explain that she was still technically at work, and she would eventually be called back to help set things in order.

 

“If anything happens, just give me a call.” Delena said, scribbling her number on a piece of paper. “Oh, and since you know Dr. Gaster now I guess I’ll put his down too.”

I flinched. “Oh, oh no that’s not nes-”

“It’s fine he wouldn’t mind. But regardless It’s better for you to have more than one contact. Here.” She handed me the paper. “And I’m sorry about all of this. I’m pretty sure you were one of the only random visitors in the building today when it happened, we don’t get people like you that often. The fact that this happened while you were here is just...really annoying and terrible timing to say the least! I’m sure you have others things you need to do. But while you’re here just make yourself comfortable, I’ll be back when this whole shit show is over.”

 

Delena’s words brought about some needed comfort. But in reality, I didn’t have anything to do back at home. My take-out plans were a bit soiled, but other than that it wasn’t like I was missing anything. As long no one ended up getting hurt and I was home in time to feed Milky (which was probably in a couple of hours) things were okay.

 

I took a breath.

 

“Nah it’s okay. I don’t really have anything else to do anyways. But you should get to work now. And thank you so much for for kindness, I really appreciate the hospitality.”

 

She smiled. “It’s no biggie. Just call me if you need anything!”

I smiled and waved as she left, appreciating the kindness. We needed more people liker Delena in this world.

 

I flopped onto the couch, grabbing her apple TV remote. _Hm...what to watch._ As expected, most of her ‘Keep Watching’ on hulu was just animes and reality TV shows. I finally settled on Hell’s Kitchen, a show I tended to watch at home more often than not just to get kicks out of Gordon Ramsey’s priceless rage. Krista and I always quoted his best insults like “THIS SQUID IS SO RAW, I CAN STILL HERE IS TELLING SPONGEBOB TO SHUT THE **FUCK** UP.”

“SHARON, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. FUCK OFF AND GO PUT SOME MORE MAKEUP ON.”

 

He really did talk some dirty shit, but it was hilarious nonetheless.

 

\------------

 

A few hours passed before I finally gathered the courage to break into Delena’s food cabinets. _I’ll leave ten for her before I leave._

 

Then another hour.

 

I eventually looked at my phone.

 

_Shit, 10:50 at night? Already?_

 

Now was the time to start worrying.

 

I dialed Delena’s phone.

 

“Is this Y/N?”

 

“Hey Delena, it’s me, um, it’s been like three hours. What’s the news?”

 

“Oh...uh...well I wish I had your phone number on hand I would have called you earlier, sorry. The police arrived a while ago, but there has been some...er...complications. A few people are still resisting arrest in front of the building, we were told no one was allowed to leave until things were squared away.”

 

“That’s ridiculous. I imagine some of you guys have kids and family waiting at home…”

 

“I know, that’s why everyone is so anxious.” She sighed. “Well, now that I have your number I’ll be able to update you. And don’t come down here, please. I mean your already all over the news.”

 

“Wasn’t planning on it. It’s comfy up here.” I laughed uneasily.

 

“Haha, yeah. Oh, also, I don’t know if you got the news already, but someone just said something about a fire that started downtown recently. I don’t know if you live there but, just letting you know. It’s one of many that were set tonight by some unidentified people. They actually put out most of the fires accept just one, it’s still raging right now. People are thinking it’s all connected somehow, the protest here and the fires I mean. Bit far fetched, but I guess it’s believable given how bad things are getting in this city.”

 

_Downtown._

 

“Did they happen to know the exact location of the main fire?”

 

“Umm lets see...OH something like down an 'Evanson street' and an apartment building.”

 

I felt my heart begin to sink.

 

_No…not possible._

 

“Y/N? You there?”

 

“Where...where did you say it was again?”

 

_Please...please god no..._

 

“I said somewhere down Evanson street, some kind of apartment complex. Why?”

 

There was only one apartment building on Evanson, and it was mine.

 

My stomach turned, hands weakening at the wrists. 

 

“Y/N? Is something wrong?”

 

_This can’t be...happening..._

 

_Need to get out of here…_

 

My body rose stiffly, phone in hand.

 

“Y/N! Y/N-” click.

 

I grabbed the paper with the phone numbers, stuffed it into my pocket, and darted down the hall and towards the elevator.

 

My only home, food, furniture, safety, Milky. Everything.

 

Why was this happening to me?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Determination.


	6. Burning Cold

 

It wasn’t safe to assume that something like that was completely true. It did come from people I didn’t really know. While in the elevator, I got on my phone to see if there really were fires in the city. And sure enough, there were. Six of them. And all of them had some type of connection according to the news. _‘the fire on Evanson street is yet to be put out, full scale evacuations of the neighborhood have been underway.’_

 

Metal doors folded open on the 6th floor. Delena’s room was so high up in the building that it took two full elevator rides to get up there. In a panic, my dumbass had taken myself down on a different route than the one Delena and I had been on.

 

My heart raced uncontrollably as I made a beeline across the hall. It didn’t help that I didn’t know where I actually was in the building other than on the 6th floor, but I was able to recognize a few paintings that I’d passed by with Gaster a few hours before.

 

Finally I came across another elevator.

 

My hand practically smashed the buttons in my attempt to press ‘1’. _Come on…come on..._ I needed to leave as soon as possible. Even if it meant breaking out of the building.

 

When the doors folded open once again, they revealed a large space with a few papers scattered upon the floor, and some signs that read ‘A wing’ and ‘B wing’. There was no one in sight.

 

In scanning the area, I noticed some SRS maps folded into a plastic holster on a near desk. My hands fumbled, opening one of them to its full form.

 

My location wasn’t far from an exit. Just had to take a right and keep going until I reached another one of the back entrances in the building (there seemed to be a lot for some reason). I put the map back and sped down the tiled hallway. Each floor seemed to smell different in some way. But the first floor, as one might expect, smelled of coffee and food. Smells I’d always come across during my AM classes in college. Drowsy people basking in the coolness of the morning, as they sipped cappuccinos and typed essays. Memories from a simpler past. A brighter one.

 

My attention was skewed as a voice sounded behind me.

 

“Ms. Y/N?”

 

I froze.

 

His footsteps approached slowly from behind. I whipped around to block any attempts to stop my escape. He stilled at the sight of me, and for a moment I thought I felt something as we took in each other's presences. But the sensation was gone as quick as it came.

 

I blinked. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted. “I-I have to-”

 

“What are you doing?” Gaster interrupted, voice tired but firm.

 

Before I could answer I felt something trickle down my cheek. My fingers followed. 

 

I hadn’t felt myself crying. I couldn’t really feel anything past my racing heart.

 

_Y/N we need to leave._

 

“I...I...” My voice came out shaky and weak. I hated it. “I have to go.”

 

Gaster stared forward calculatingly.

 

“They won’t let you leave, it’s precautionary. But more importantly why are you-”

 

Something within me broke, like a lightning bolt that was being kept in a glass jar.

 

“I know they won't fucking let me!”

 

At this, Gaster just stood motionlessly, clearly aware of how unstable I was.

 

“My whole life has been a goddamn nightmare, alright?” I continuously fought the boiling emotions in my stomach, throat throbbing. “Or...or I’ll lose everything.”

 

Silence fell upon us like a blanket. Everything that had been happening to me was enough to put a person on edge. But my tolerance to disaster and misfortune was high. It took a lot to push me over. And this was it.

 

I stared forward, feeling the tears pour down my face once again without restriction. My shoulders shook, knees giving way. I sunk to the ground.

 

“Everything...everything I love and everything I’ve worked for…” I sobbed. 

 

The scientist had no words. The poor guy was caught in the middle of my issues now. I wished he'd just ignored me in the hallway.

He was smart enough to know that nothing he said would even _remotely_ help the situation. And he didn’t seem at all the type to just come up and hug me. Not in the slightest. This man was too guarded. I was glad he wasn’t the type to do that anyway. I needed to be left alone in my darkness for a little bit before anything else happened.

 

It took a few moments before I was able to say something.

 

“Please..if you can just... _please_ help me get out of here. I-I won’t be able to get past the police on my own.”

 

I didn’t look up to see Gaster’s reaction to my plead, but his silence was enough to tell me he was at least thinking about it.

 

**[NARRATOR]**

 

What the hell was he supposed to do?

It wasn’t like Gaster to hesitate on something with such an easy solution. But your plea had been so...helpless. He thought about his children. He thought about the sheer hell he would raise if someone were to even _attempt_ harming them. He then thought about the words you’d cried before. He had no reason to believe that you were lying.

 

It wasn’t like he had any duties he’d be neglecting by leaving for a bit. He’d already come forward as one of the head scientists of the building and dealt with the police first hand. Now there wasn’t much for everyone to do but wait until the problem was fully resolved so they could all return to their families. Gaster himself wasn’t too worried about his kids, though. He’d already called Toriel and requested she go and watch them while he was away, to which she happily obliged of course.

 

Now there was this issue of you. You had definitely been in the back of his mind since that night, just a source of leisurely wonder. And since then, thanks to that idiotic news report, he’d already had to deal with several reporters and journalists, all to which he refused to enlighten on the subject.

 

But then you showed up. Why?? Gaster still couldn’t process it even after you explained that it was just to thank him. How...old fashioned? The whole city was going to shit and you decided to take time in your day to go thank him for such a small act. It...interested him to say the least. And if it hadn’t been for the important paperwork he’d been filling out in his office prior to your appearance, he might have questioned you more.

 

Nevertheless, he couldn’t fathom losing everything just because some entitled pricks decided to set some buildings on fire. The whole situation was just terrible timing…

 

Gaster pushed the thoughts away. He needed to make a decision.

 

There were no benefits to helping you, not that he needed any. But he decided he was willing to help you get back. He didn’t quite know why yet, but you needed an answer. And he needed to get this over with.

 

**[Y/N]**

 

The man in front of me took a breath, looking down on my pathetic form once again.

 

“...I have a car.”

 

I looked up between tears. The hell was that supposed to mean?

 

He seemed to notice my confusion. “I can get past the police and drive you there.” There was some hesitancy in his voice.

One thing was for sure though, he didn’t have to drive me. We both knew that.

 

_Oh..._

 

The corners of my lips curled ever so slightly in relief. I pulled myself up from my hunched position on the floor, looking him in the eyes. “Th-thank you...”

 

Gaster only narrowed his eyes, nodding. He understood. He probably had things he held dear to him back in his own home, at least that’s what I suspected. It was the only conclusion I could come to when I wondered why he'd suddenly agreed to help me. Gaster seemed like a cold guy. He could have just as easily hauled me back to Delena’s office and been done with me. And he didn’t.

 

“We don’t have much time.” He said in monotone seriousness, motioning for me to follow.

 

I walked beside him silently, trying to gather my what cool I had left in me. It was becoming harder and harder to hide my embarrassment. I broke down in front of a god damn stranger! Not only broke down, I was dumping all my emotional instability upon him. I wish I would have held it together until I found a way out of there. I pulled my hoodie over my head once again to hide the redness that was creeping onto my face.

 

Soon enough we reached a new door. Gaster had briefly explained that every entrance was being guarded. And he was right. Through a small glass window in the door I could see two young bucks around my age wandering about next to a large dumpster. The alleyway lamps lit up their forms. They looked incredibly bored as they kicked gravel around and made muffled remarks about the fun they’d had at the strip club the night before.

 

This was going to be easier than I thought.

 

**[NARRATOR]**

 

Gaster opened the door slowly, the human girl following close behind. He had purposefully taken the back door that was closest to the parking lot where his car was. Now, Gaster wasn’t one to brag, but he was quite content at the fact that he had his own car. And a relatively nice one at that. Most of the city just used cabs to get around because of the extra expense. Fortunately he lived in the nicer part of town where he could park his car and drive Sans and Papyrus to school without someone breathing down his neck to tip them. A much more secure option contrary to public transportation, well worth his hard earned money.

 

It would have been painfully easy for Gaster to use his magic and restrain the young policeman. But he knew how strict the laws on magic were, and he didn’t want to complicate things any further. He had to do this on a daily basis actually. Even while talking to the rudest and most arrogant kinds of people. Though it was definitely a challenge to keep himself from taking their smug face and throwing it into the ground.

All this would take was the old manipulation tactic, and they’d be out.  

“Greetings.”

The officers nearly jumped out of their skins, whipping guns out of their holsters and pointing them directly at Gaster.

He chuckled.

“State your business.” One of them demanded shakily.

Gaster raised a steady hand. “No need for violence. We only need your permission to leave before anyone else gets exposed.” He motioned towards you, making you flinch.

The officers looked at one another. “W-what do you mean?”

“There was a chemical accident while everyone was locked in. Fortunately it was small and fixable, but this woman had full exposure to the radioactivity. She needs to be isolated.” 

You nodded, faking a cough.

The shorter one hesitated. “...look, we haven’t heard of any accidents, and I’m sure the head scientist would have informed our bosses. So I’m gonna need you two to-”

 

**[Y/N]**

 

The late night breeze sent chills down my spine. Stars peaked through patchy clouds in the dark purple sky, countering the light pollution that lingered above the city. I regretted not bringing a better jacket.

 

I wasn’t sure how these two were keeping their cool in front of Gaster. If I thought he was intimidating before, that was nothing compared to how he was acting now. Well, they weren’t exactly keeping their cool. Their voices were wavering, guns shaking very faintly at the tips. Maybe because of the cold, maybe because they were actually afraid knowing that their weapons were practically useless against the power this man held with magic. Not to mention Gaster practically towered over both of them. But they tried to cover it up with stern expressions and stable stances. 

I was a bit surprised when the scientist lied about the ‘chemical accident’, but it seemed like a valuable excuse. So I went with it. 

We needed to hurry.

Gaster took out his ID before the men. “Unfortunately I believe you are mistaken. I am the head scientist.” The men nearly froze. “So, I suggest you let us through before we have a problem.”

 

My jaw dropped. _He's the boss of this place?!_ He could've mentioned all of this beforehand. 

 

The men kept looking at each other nervously.

 

“Uh, apologies, sir. We..uh...uhm sorry for the inconvenience.” They stood aside like two defeated puppies, tails between their legs. I had to admit I felt a little sorry for them. They were just trying to do their job. If anyone found out about this, they’d surely be in deep shit with their boss. 

 

I had to push the thoughts aside, following Gaster as he strode passed them. The tension finally settled when we rounded the corner towards a yellow-lit parking lot.

 

“I’m really sorry for the trouble.” I blurted.

 

He kept facing forward, unfazed. “...There was nothing to be done and the lab. I have no problem with doing this.”

 

I nodded. That was a relief. I felt terrible knowing that this guy had already done me a huge favor, and now he was stuck dealing with me once again.

 

I owed him.

 

Big time.

 

\----

 

_No fucking way!_

 

I had to ignore the thoughts I had about his car on first sighting. I wasn’t the time to freak out when there were countless other things to worry about.

 

But...Gaster’s car was...fucking badass to say the least. It was a beautiful shining black Audi R8. Holy hell. I had no idea where that man had accumulated the money for a car like that. Before things in the city had gotten bad, an Audi would probably have been considered around the same value as a BMW or Mercedes. But now? Nobody even owned cars anymore! Most people had to sell their cars outside of the city just to bring a little money home.

 

Audi was a German company. They were easily distinguishable by their logo; four rings that crossed over each other, and their low, sleek design. Audis usually ran 532 horsepower, but an R8 easily ran 610. The average car had around 120. These were _fast_ cars.

 

I only knew all of this because of my dad. Before he died, he used to take me to the biggest car shows in the country. I was only ten. He’d go on and on about the way a Hennessey Venom F5 motor worked, and his favorite antiques of course. I never lost my own passion for cars, but over time it began to fade. I rarely had time to think about it. No one of my status had time to think about what they really loved anymore.

But I was positive that if my dad hadn’t died, that passion would have held up through everything.

God. I missed him so much.

 

\---

  

We got into the car quickly.

 

Gaster turned the ignition as the car rumbled to a exalting start. “What exactly do you plan on doing there? There is only a certain point you’ll be able to go before they will have evacuated the area.” He stated after I told him where the apartment was. 

“I...I’ll figure it out. I need to see the damage. And my cat is in there. But...she’s smart so...I know she’ll be okay. I just know.” It took myself a couple of repetitions to convince myself. 

Gaster didn’t respond. He only looked forward, forcing himself not to push the subject. He wasn’t in much of a place to advise me not to go. 

Milky would be okay, right?

 

Yeah...yeah of course she would be.

 

As for the rest of the building...I wasn’t sure just how bad the damage was. But for all I knew, that was the last I’d see of my old apartment. Even if the fire had a managed to avoid that part of the structure, I couldn’t live in the middle of an abandoned apartment building. Before, I’d loathed my apartment with a passion. Now I’d cried my eyes out over it. You only need the light when it’s burning low right?

 

Murphy's law.

 

A hated prospect, but a known reality.

 

We pulled out of the parking lot. The road seemed a bit empty, most likely due to all the commotion in the city. It was almost routine by then. When something big went down, everyone retreated into secure areas.

 

Yeah, things were getting bad.

 

Gaster turned onto the road swiftly. Then, seeing as there was really no one on the street, he practically _floored_ it (or at least that’s what it felt like). My body slid back at the force. The engine sent ripping sounds through the streets. This car could go from 0-70 in a good three seconds, that’s drag racing material. My heart skipped a beat and I gripped anything around me that felt remotely secure. Taxi drivers didn't do this. So the sudden speed was pretty alarming. But, not like there were any police out there to ticket us.

 

“ _Jesus…”_ I cursed under my breath, whipping around to look at Dr. Gaster, who was calm as can be.

 

My eyes drifted to the speedometer.

 

 _NINETY_ _FIVE????!!!!_

 

Well. That was a bit anxiety inducing.

 

“Are you used to going this fast?!” I practically yelled over the engine.

He looked over at me with a rather amused expression as he noticed my discomfort. ”Not necessarily.” He took a hard turn compressing me into the car door. “But I must return to work before people begin to question my absence. You do want to get there as quickly as possible I assume?”

I huffed. “Okay. Fine. Just don't feel like dying in a car accident today.”

 

\---------

 

It was easy to see where the fire was, even from far away. The smoke was going up in plumes, thick and black, carrying memories into the sky. Stealing them.

 

It’s crazy how heat from a massive fire can travel so far. We pulled up to a fenced up area, parking on the side of the road behind a crowd of people that watched as hell ate up their homes, firemen and women racing frantically to stop the destruction. This was so much worse than I'd imagined. Not only had the fire burned my building, it was now catching on the ones next to it. There were some meter-mades guarding the conventional chain fence, keeping prospectors far enough from the toxicity.

 

Gaster and I got out of the car, glaring at the terrifying orange flames in the distance as they devoured everything people had worked hard for. I couldn’t even fathom what it was like for firefighters that fought forest fires that moved like a storm, traveling a two football fields per second with high winds, like a tsunami in the middle of the countryside. Each step was a calculation. Each breath was borrowed.  

 

My feet carried me forward and my mind retreated. I didn’t stop to give the man that drove me a second glance. _There was no time._

 

It was now my soul in control, once again.

 

I my eyes whipped around, looking for a flaw in the system. A break at which I could get through the fencing and run until I reached the apartment.

 

And there was one. A meter made that had her back to the gap, talking to someone else. Now was my chance.

 

_Y/N...why...why are you doing this?_

 

Milky. What if she was still there? What if she needed someone to find her? She would only come when I called. And what about the safe? Where i stored the only pictures I had on my dad? The firemen weren’t going to go in and look for that stuff. They were focused on putting out the fire.

 

I needed to get in there.

 

I zipped up my jacket, letting my heart skip one last beat.

 

Then, I ran.

 

“Hey! HEY! GET BACK HERE!” the officers yelled in my direction.

 

Run. Run. Run.

 

They wouldn’t chase me forever.

“HEY!”

_Run. Run. Run._

The voice quickly faded down the street. I bolted through the middle of the closed off road.

 

I felt the heat around me elevate. Like I was running towards the sun itself. Another turn around the corner, and I’d be there.

 

But my eyes weren’t prepared for the horror I was about to see.

 

_No………_

 

There it was. My apartment. Completely engulfed in glowing flame, as if the devil himself had reached down and grabbed it with one hand. The flames were tall and passionate, because nothing in that building was even remotely fireproof. The firemen had moved down the street to contain the fire until it put itself out. No one was near.

 

For a second I just stood there. Horrified. Burning hot. Eyes stinging. Body shaking. Adrenaline pulsing. The only thing that kept me from losing my mind right then and there.

 

But...but then I heard something. Something like a cry. A cry for help.

 

For a moment I almost thought it was human. But as I traced it back to its location, I noticed it was coming from a shadow on top of the pier, the very highest floor peaking out of a window. I squinted.

 

_Milky??_

 

I gasped. “Milky!!!!”

 

How was I supposed to get her down?

 

“Kitty! It's me!” I screamed at the foot of the building. I got as close as I could before I could no longer take the ear rumbling rage of flames that encapsulated the foot of the structure.

 

She laid eyes on me, letting out another wail. I was in tears.

 

Was this….hell?

 

“Come on baby, please just jump I'll catch you!” I cried, holding my arms out desprately.

 

A piece of wood fell near her, causing her to back into the side of the window frame.

 

“Please-“

 

I stopped.

 

A purple glow surrounded the cat. Milky froze completely, giving into the energy around her.

 

She then was lifted from the window frame. My eyes followed her in shock as she floated down the side of the building

 

...right into the arms of…

 

W.D. Gaster. 

 

He was panting heavily, his lab coat stripped off to just a grey turtleneck and some skinny jeans.

He held Milky to his chest tightly, shielding her. She looked tiny compared to him.

 

Then our eyes connected. I thought he was trying to say something, trying to motion me to come towards him, but I couldn't hear anything. Couldn't  _feel_ anything.

 

_He...he…._

 

My vision blurred.

 

I was falling.

 

_No…._

 

Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say, the chapter was incredibly fun to write. And I hope you guys had fun reading it too.


	7. She Loved Me Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some brief but depictions of abuse in this chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for the support!

So I fell, down, down into what felt like the depths of hell. It was hot and freezing at the same time. My soul shook. My body ached.

 

Was I dying? Was this what it really felt like?

 

Maybe it was for the best. I had nothing else to live for other than the few people that cared about me.

 

 _I’m sorry Milky._  My companion. _Krista, Glassy, Ed, Sarah, Phoebe, Helix._ My coworkers. People that had treated me with kindness from the moment I’d met them. People I would have cried about if they’d died. People I know would at least remember me when I’m gone.

 

Everything was still now. Lingering. A completely stagnant blackness. Every emotion was ripped from me, and I felt absolutely nothing. I could only wander.

 

Then I saw a light. I felt myself being pulled towards that light. Like a moth to flame.

 

It was...a memory.

 

A memory I'd tried to shove to the darkest corners of my mind until it was disposed of and lost forever. But the worst memories are always those that you can’t ever forget. And I, of all people, had been seasoned to know that.

 

The memory flashed before me like a TV screen, floating in the darkness, penetrating the potent darkness from all around.

 

It was was me, crying. My voice was high and innocent, I must have been only 7 or 8. My body lay curled up in the corner of a grey room, hands held tightly to my right cheek.

 

I remembered the day so clearly it was almost scary.

 

My young mind could barely process it. It was the day my mother had had another one of her breakdowns. But it was different. This time she'd gone so far as to slap me across the face.

The hit was so hard that I was nearly thrown to the grown behind me. Although I’d seen my mother having psychopathic freak-outs in the past, she’d never done anything like  _that_ before.

Why...why? Why would she do this? I hadn’t done anything wrong…? She was just suddenly angry with me and then...she lashed out. I asked her what was wrong. She took it out on me.

 

My dad had been standing there. He’d seen it.

He stormed in and grabbed me, shielding me from the wrath of my insane mother. I cried into his shoulder, gripping his shirt until I thought it would surely tear. He took me to my room, then put me down on my bed and rushed out to address the screaming woman in the kitchen.

 

And there, in my room, I curled up and cried thinking about all the times I’d cuddled her and called her mommy.

 

She...she betrayed me...she... _hurt_ me…

 

This was the first time she’d laid a hand on my like that. But it wouldn’t be the last. The thing that set this memory apart, though, was the feeling that I would never again see the face of a mother that I knew loved me to the moon and back. Like she used to say. That mother had been destroyed long ago. And no matter how many times she apologized for her actions, and pleaded for forgiveness, I knew, _she_ knew, that I’d never look at her the same again.

 

‘Mommy’ was gone. Forever.

 

I tried to take my eyes off of the memory, which proved impossible. I was glued to it. I _absorbed_ it _._ And the longer I stared, the further my soul dove into painful agony.

 

I gripped my head, shaking it.

 

_No….no stop…_

 

The crying only became louder.

 

_Make it stop make it stop PLEASE GOD MAKE IT STOP_

 

And louder.

 

_PLEASE PLEASE JUST MAKE IT GO AWAY I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!_

 

—————

 

My breath hitched, eyes flying open.

 

_Mom....mom……_

 

Cold sweat dripped down my forehead, and gathered in my fisted palms. My eyes were clouded with wet tears. I huffed, feeling as though I could run out of air at any second. It was only after a few second of sitting there that I realized the position of my hands which were gripping the middle of my shirt, as if holding on to something. Wow. Talk about a nightmare. I wiggled my fingers out of the death grip, blinking thoughtlessly into the darkness of the room around me.

 

_Hm..._

 

I sat back on a pile of soft pillows.

 

_Wait…_

 

I only had one pillow.

 

_…._

 

My eyes grew wide. I felt the fabric of the sheets around me that...weren’t mine…

 

And the soft heavy down comforter that was sandwiching me between a memory-foam mattress….also definitely not mine...

 

Then the smells hit me. Soft...new...nice… like if you had a rich-ish relative that just bought a brand new furnished home in the suburbs and you’d come to visit and ended up staying the night.

 

An air vent blew peacefully in the corner of the space, explaining the neutral temperature in the room.

 

I almost wanted to curl back up in the bed and act like my life hadn’t just gone to ruins.

 

_Ruins?_

 

_Oh_

 

_Oh fuck_

 

_The fire...and Milky and the apartment and…._

 

It all hit me at once. My head  _reeled_ with anxiety and confusion.

 

_How could...but where... I thought I…_

 

Then I remembered him. Gaster. _He...he followed me._ The way he glared at me unreadably as I turned to face him, apartment crumpling to the ground in my silhouette. He’d used some type of magic to get Milky down. So I knew she was with him after I’d passed out.  

I gripped the comforter weakly.

 

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

 

The apartment and everything in it was gone, that much was for sure. But I’d taken my purse to see Gaster before my life had turned into a living hell. That purse carried all my IDs and cash along with my phone, gum, perfume, and some (unopened) sour patch kids. I vaguely remembered leaving my purse beside a lamp post near Gaster’s car. That meant I had _some_ hopes in finding it. Key word some.

 

But where was Milky?

 

Where was _I_?!

 

The room I was in was almost completely dark aside from a bright light that shown through the rims of a door some seven feet away. It was still, quiet, almost peaceful. I could only hear the hum of vents and the shudder of what sounded like a washing machine.

 

This definitely wasn’t a hospital. This was someone’s house.

 

My hand reached instinctively across the sheets to find some type of light so that I could see.

 

_There must be a lamp somewhere…_

 

_Come on…_

 

The door knob gave a sudden, quiet rattle.

 

_SHIT!_

 

I dove back under the covers, pulling them over my head frantically. The door creaked quietly, followed by a woosh as it was opened. I didn’t know why I was so terrified of who might have entered the room, after all they probably had all the answers I was looking for. But then again, I had no idea where I was. Gaster was right there when I passed out, but it seemed like if it were up to him he would have dumped my ass at some hospital and been done with me. This couldn’t be _his_ house. No chance. 

 

_Breath….breath…….._

 

_Stay still._

 

“cmon paps, hurry before she wakes up.” A young, baritone voice broke the silence, just above a whisper.

 

_….a kid??_

 

_But…_

 

“Sorry! Where should I put it?” Answered a second, more lively little voice that seemed uncomfortable at a whisper.

 

_Two kids..._

 

“uh...just put it on the foot of er’ bed i guess.”

 

“Okay,”

 

I felt a faint rustle on the covers near my feet. My body fought the urge to pull away in surprise.

 

“alright, cmon let’s get outa here.”

 

“But...do you...do you think she’ll like it?”

 

_Like what?_

 

“uh...course’ she will. no one could ever refuse the work of the great papyrus.”

 

A faint _Nyehehe_ resounded from the foot of the bed. “Thanks Sans.”

 

Footsteps then carried the two of them out of the room, closing the door. I sat there for a few seconds, making sure the coast was clear.

 

Then I sat up, returning to my original quest of finding a lamp of some sort, until my fingers fell over a bedside table then finally a light that sat atop of it. I found the switch and flicked it on.

 

The room in front of me illuminated in the dim yellow lighting, revealing the door, an empty closet, a seemingly unused desk, and the bedside table.

 

_Definitely a spare room of some kind._

 

But what caught my attention, was the little letter that was laid nicely at the edge of the mattress. I reached for it cautiously.

 

The letter had an orange envelope, and a little heart sticker that served as the seal. I observed it carefully, turning it over in my hands and running my fingers over the texture.

 

_So these kids just left this here for me, huh?_

 

I smiled thoughtfully. 

 

_Might as well open it…_

 

I peeled the sticker off of the bottom, careful not to make any unneeded noise.

 

A little piece of scratch paper was tucked inside the envelope. I reached in and unfolded it.

 

The letter read:

 

 _ ~~DEER~~ _ _DEAR MISS HUMAN!_

 

 _I KNOW YOU ARE VERY SAD AND_ _~~NOT HAP~~ _ _UNHAPPY RITE NOW! BUT DO NOT_ _~~WORREE~~ _ _WORRY! I, PAPYRUS, BELEEVE IN YOU!!! YOU ARE SAFE NOW! PLEAS GET BETTER SOON!_

 

_FROM,_

 

 _PAPYRUS (AND SANS AND DADDY BUT_ _THEY DO NOT FEEL LIKE WRITING THEIR NAMES SORRY!)_

 

_Papyrus? Sans and daddy?_

 

This was clearly made by a young child. At the end of the note was a scribbley drawing of some stick figures holding hands...a family? They were all smiling. There was a short little blue one, an even smaller orange one, and a tall black one that stood in the middle of the two with…

 

_No...no way…_

 

Scars going through both eyes and a hole in each hand.

 


	8. Spontaneous Actions

Once again, Gaster had acted irrationally. But what made this instance especially angering, is the fact that he'd already made several _big_ mistakes that day.

 

  1. Going out of his way to help this human girl when it was unnecessary
  2. Threatening two policemen in the process
  3. Driving you _towards_ the fire and expecting that you’d be able to handle everything from there
  4. Following you as a result of your idiotic actions and getting caught in the midst of the burn



 

Now he wasn’t sure what he was doing or why he was doing it. There was no time, no going back. He’d seen you bolt for a break in the fencing, and felt compelled to go after you. It only made sense right? After going all that way for this girl why let her get herself hurt now?

 

No. It was all bullshit. Bullshit and excuses. He was actively lying to himself.

 

But after all of the lies, the terrible things he’d done, the fact just left a dull reminder in the back of his mind.

 

He knew it was something else. Something within him was making him do all of these things. Otherwise, he never even would have batted an eye at you.

 

Of course, he’d known this from the start. That night at the bar, he was passing by and the scene was laid out beside him. Gaster glared through the bright pink windows, only to see you through a patch of negative space in the crowd. You, and the likes of an enormous man that held you up by the neck of a green hoodie.

 

His soul lurched at the sight of you, taking him completely off guard. His hands balled into fists, trying to control the sensation without making a scene. It wasn't a good feeling at all, quite the opposite actually. Gaster hadn't felt such a strong and painful force come through his soul since he worked down in the core. 

 

He couldn’t understand.

 

There was nothing _different_ about you that separated you from other humans or monsters. Nothing that would cause anyone to look twice, or feel a strange sensation in their soul at the sight of you for that matter. What the hell was wrong with him? Yes, he had experienced sensations in his soul like that before, but nothing  _quite_ like that.

From then on, he promised himself that if he ever saw you again he’d push the feeling down until it was crushed beneath his darkness.

 

Because he hated it.

 

He hated humans (other than those he knew and trusted confidentially). And he especially hated feeling abnormally compelled to _help_ one.

 

Yet…

 

here he was.

 

**[Y/N]**

 

_Shit shit shit!_

 

_Were those his kids? How old is he?_

 

_Wait, where’s the mother?_

 

_Maybe those aren’t his kids?_

 

_Maybe it’s not even him!_

 

_No…_

 

_No it has to be him._

 

_It’s definitely him._

 

My mind was racing with thoughts as I stared a the drawing.

 

_Does this mean he has Milky?_

 

_He was the last one I saw with her...._

 

_Maybe she’s here?_

 

 _God I need to figure out what the_ _fuck_ _is going on!_

 

There was no way any of this was coincidental. Whoever those kids were, they knew Gaster somehow. Whether they be his family, or some other close relation. Though it was hard to believe the latter looking at the drawing.

 

I took one last look around the room. If this really was his place, which it most likely was, I had to admit it seemed pretty nice. The new smells, air conditioning, nice sheets, hardwood floor, mat grey wall. The only strange thing about it was that the windows were small, and up high. Most apartment complexes and condos in the city had low, open windows. It was just a thing. But these windows were way too high to look out of. All I could see through them was a dark night sky and some faint but frequent headlights that occasionally passed.

 

It was night time. And based on the minority of cars on the road, I would have guessed it to be a very late hour. But shouldn’t those kids have been asleep by then? Maybe it wasn’t a late hour. Maybe this place was just located a little outside of the main city, where there wasn’t constant traffic and city noise to keep you up half the night.

 

Possibly.

 

There was only one way to find out. I needed to leave that room, find someone, and ask where I was and what had happened after I passed out.

 

My hand whipped around from where I was sitting up and pulled the white covers back, revealing that I was still wearing same clothes I’d been wearing the day of the fire. It was a bit of a relief that no one had gone and stripped off my clothes while I was unconscious, but then again the fire could have been _days_ ago. Meaning I was in desperate need of a shower. My feet fell over the side of the bed, hitting something leathery before they touched the floor.

 

_Huh?_

 

I looked over, surprised to see my purse sitting comfortably against the side of the bed frame. Without thinking, I grabbed it, checking to make sure everything was still there. And it was. Everything including my wallet, credit cards, and my phone. I found my phone and opened it.

 

_8:47 pm. No Service. 67%._

 

“Hm…”

 

I set the bag down, plugging my phone into a portable charger that was tucked into the side pocket.

 

I slid off of the mattress, grabbing the rim of the bedside table as I noticed the weakness in my legs. Had I really been laying there for that long?? God...I hoped not. Part of me was a bit releived that there was no service here, otherwise my phone would've blown up with texts and voicemails. Krista was probably freaking. Not to mention my job, they were always strict about attendance. Would they fire me if I were missing completely unannounced for a couple of days?

 

Ha. Imagine that.

 

Losing your apartment, your job, and what was left of your will to live. All in one sitting.

 

_Runs in the family._

 

After regaining some feeling in my legs, I was finally able to stand alone and hobble forward. My knee joints were especially weak. I had to take several deep breaths in order to convince myself that they wouldn’t lock and send me crumbling to the floor.

 

_Just stay along the wall._

 

I made my way to the door. My hand curled around the knob nervously.

 

_..._

 

_Ok._

 

_1…_

 

_2…_

 

_3._

 

The knob turned surprisingly quietly.

 

A subtle light was coming from some other lit room, allowing me to see fairly easily despite the time of day. The first thing my eyes met was railing, and a room it looked over. The suspended hallway I was on was carpeted nicely. I felt my toes gripping the softness of it as I stepped out. The wooden rails overlooked a tall, open room. There was a kitchen on the other side, and a living room with a leather couch and a huge flat screen. Several doors were scattered about the sides of the room, and there was a staircase that led up to the hallway/floor I was on.

 

I stood there for a moment, cautiously making myself accustomed to the space, and looking for any exits in case something creepy was going on and there was a sudden need to peace out. Then, I made my way to the staircase, hoping I wouldn’t have to open any doors to find someone.

 

**[NARRATOR]**

 

Gaster was sat at his desk, his bedroom window open slightly, just as he liked it when he needed to think.

 

Smoky smells of the city nights kept him awake and alert. But they also kept him at a stable level of peace to which he liked not to be interrupted unless his boys needed something.

 

His boys.

 

They were now supposed to be fast asleep. Or, Papyrus at least. Sans’s sleep patterns continued to grow ever more complicated with each nightmare. And it pained Gaster to know that his son’s restlessness was because of him. Because of what Sans had _seen him do_ in the Underground. Though, Sans would never admit that.

 

Damn himself. And damn all of his idiotic _naive_ decisions.

 

...

 

At least Papyrus’s youth was unharmed. He had just recently come to say goodnight with Sans, holding a handmade card which he called his “get better card” for Y/N. Papyrus wanted Gaster and Sans to sign it, but both were too guarded to do so.

 

Papyrus’s sweetness was rare. And both of them were going to protect that, no matter the circumstance.

 

That girl had been asleep for over two days now. Gaster didn’t like the idea of having to seek any further help if she did not wake up within the next week. Yes, he was the former royal scientist with a PHD that he acquired at a boastingly young age, but he wasn’t a medical doctor. Or a human one at that. Gaster only knew the basics of such things in that field, and he had no desire to learn anymore.

 

If the girl didn’t wake up soon, he’d have to call in someone from work who would know what to do.

 

(author: I just added the part below since it's pretty important. If you've already passed this chapter please read this section now, I'll delete this later. It was a bit sloppy to make this mistake on my part) --------

 

Not only would that risk exploiting the king’s plans, but it would also make him look strange for not taking her to a hospital instead. If and when you woke up, he hoped you wouldn't question the fact that he had taken you back to his house. After all, it wasn't his idea to keep you there. Asgore and Toriel had advised him to do so after he'd come to them for advice on the situation. He was quite opposed the idea before they explained why.

It was clear where things were going with relations between humans and monsters, and the royal family was prepared. You were a possible asset to the next stage in the war now. Monsters needed a publicized-spokesperson in order to get more humans on their side, and you, coincidentally, were the perfect candidate. You were completely vulnerable, without a house, job, and most of your previous possessions. You were also widely known by now because of news reports and articles. So, you would speak for monsters as a human being, and gain loyalties from both monsters and humans alike, and exchange they would give you a place to live and possible pay. 

Gaster had to admit, it wasn't the most thought-out plan. But if it was a success, it would mean a far advance in he war for monsters.

All Gaster had to do was gain your trust and loyalty, then their plans would be set forth. 

…

 

“Mm.” Gaster hummed thoughtfully, thinking of the endless explanations he’d have to come up with in order to convince whoever he’d have to call over that everything was fine, and that he _had_ to keep her there.

 

But before the scientist’s thoughts could progress, a sense struck him. He flinched, sitting up from his wide desk. Something was happening.

 

Gaster looked behind him where the sense had originated and stood abruptly. He brushed his long sleeves off with mindless ease and headed towards the door, opening it carefully.

 

**[Y/N]**

 

I looked around the huge living space wide-eyed.

 

The only lighting was from that of a light lit over the electric stove and a tall lamp in the living room that was so bright it filled the entire space.

 

_Woah._

 

Gaster was loaded!

 

The house, which I originally assumed was an apartment complex, was huge with at least 4 bedrooms. And there weren't many articles of decoration, but the ones that were there were large paintings that probably cost a _ton_ of money. The couch was long, taking up most of the space in the living room with a glass table cocooned in the center.

 

I smiled faintly as I noticed some papers and crayons scattered across it with little scribbled drawings, probably ‘Papyrus's’.

 

The kitchen itself was enormous. It was amusing to think of a guy like W.D. Gaster needing such a wide cooking space. Though it most likely just came with the house when he bought it. And who would ever thing to downsize such a glorious kitchen? I snickered breathily at the thought of the cold guy putting on an apron and dancing around the kitchen with a bowl and a spatula in his grasp.  

 

It had been a very long time since I’d been in such a nice house. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was pretty big. New smelling. A nice temperature.

 

I enjoyed the sounds of the dishwasher from the far end of the kitchen, and the breeze blowing beside a sliding glass door that held nothing but darkness past it.

 

“Krrr Krrr,” a sudden but quiet scratching noise made me jump out of my skin as I stood in the space between the kitchen and the living room.

 

_What the…_

 

_What the hell was that?_

 

“Krrr krrr krrr,” there it was again.

 

Where was it coming from?

 

“Krr krrr,”

 

_There,_

 

I traced it back to a closed door near the laundry room.

 

My feet tiptoed towards the noise ever so cautiously.

 

“Hello?” I whispered a few feet away from the frame.

 

“Krrr krr krrr krrr,” the scratching became oddly frantic.

 

“Huh?”

 

A gentle cat-like noise sounded through the door.

 

Oh, I’d know that noise anywhere.

 

_No..._

 

“Krrrr,”

 

I opened the door a crack, just to make sure it was her. And sure enough, rounding the bottom of the door to greet me, was Milky. Safe and sound. I put a hand over my mouth. The door swung open as she scampered over to my pant leg, climbing up till she stood on her hind legs.

I sincerely hoped they hadn’t locked her in that for two days straight without feeding her or or letting her out to do her business. But I was pleasantly surprised when looking further into the room that at some point someone had picked up some cat food and placed it in a bowl against the wall on the other end of the empty room, along with some water, a litter box and a blanket. It was the minimum of what a cat needed, but the fact that they cared enough to go buy those things warmed my heart.

 

 

“Hi baby!” I whispered, swooping her little body into my arms with adoration.

 

Milky situated herself in the crook of my neck, kneading into my shoulder with a loud purr. It wasn’t the greatest feeling having her claws prickle my skin like that, but I didn’t mind.

 

“I thought I lost you.” I said, stroking her grey fur.

 

About a minute went by as I stood there, holding my dear friend in relief. I was a bit surprised when Milky jolted up, jumping away from my grasp and running behind the door.

 

“Hey...why’d you-“

 

A hand came over my mouth, putting a damper on my yelp as I was pulled back towards someone.

 

“Don’t scream.” A low, familiar voice whispered behind me. 

 

_WHAT??_

 

_GASTER?!_

 

If that was Gaster, I was ready to turn around and give him a solid blow to the face for handling me like that. I brought my hands up instinctively to pry this dude off of me, quite unsuccessfully.

 

_DAMMIT LET ME GO!_

 

I wanted so badly to yell, but the tightness of his grip was incredible. Yet it felt as though he wasn’t putting in any effort at all. And what was strange was that I thoroughly remembered him having holes directly through his hands. He must have used some kind of magic to seal those up, because I could barely breath.  

“You must be quiet. Do you understand? There are children sleeping.”

 

After that sentence I stopped struggling.

 

_Oh..._

 

I took a deep breath, nodding.

 

How strange it felt to have someone so close behind you, but to have such a dramatic height difference. He probably needed to crouch a bit in order to talk to me. 

 

Slowly but surely, Gaster lifted his hand from my mouth. Although I understood his reasons for wanting me to be quiet, the anger still lingered. I turned to face him abruptly.

 

His clothing was the first thing to strike me. I guess in the little time I knew him I’d never expected to see the man wearing a thin grey long-sleeve and some black sweats that ruffled near the bottom.

 

The shirt was too thin.

 

I could see his shoulder muscles through the lining, and his chest was admittedly buffed up. Not too much. But enough to make me do a double take.

 

_There I go again._

 

_What the hell is wrong with me._

 

I shook my head. “Y-you can’t just come up behind someone like that.”  

 

He blinked, almost surprised which made me even more fired up.

 

“I couldn’t know what your reaction would be if I’d done anything else.”

 

“Not knowing me isn’t an excuse!”

 

He paused, then sighed rubbing his temples. “Fine, I apologize. But you have been asleep for almost two days. I hardly expected you to wake up at this hour.”

 

I stepped back in surprise.

 

_Two days?!_

 

_So...it has been a little while..._

 

_Shit._

 

My hand fell over my face. “I...I’m sorry I just...I’m so  _tired_...” It felt like the entire world was suddenly weighing down on my shoulders. “Sorry. This has been a lot for me.”

 

“Perfectly understandable given recent occurrences.” Gaster answered simply.

 

It took me a second to realize I had a couple things I needed to put out before we conversed any further. He was kind of socially awkward, but I couldn't ignore all this guy had done for me.

 

“Er, Doctor Gaster,”

 

He looked up through drowsy eyes, seemingly realizing something.

 

“Yes, I suppose I do owe an explanation.”

 

_Oh…_

 

“No...no I was going to say thank you for saving me and my cat. And finding my bag.”

 

Gaster seemed taken aback for a moment.

 

_Did I say something wrong?_

 

Then his expression softened. The scientist gave a quick nod, motioning for me to follow him to the kitchen.

 

_Oh._

 

“But uh, yeah I do kind of need an explanation for everything right now too, if you wouldn’t mind.” I chuckled sadly.

 

I'd come back to Milky after I had a talk with Gaster about the circumstances. She seemed taken care of anyways.

 

Wow. If I let myself think about it, I mean  _really_ acknowledge the situation I was in, I would probably collapse into a state of terminal depression. 

_Hm._

Actually, that didn't sound too bad. Feeling empty and emotionless. Having no purpose or need to do anything in life. Slow and weightless. No more pain.

 

Gaster sighed, grabbing a kettle from the side of the stove and proceeding to fill it with water.

 

“You’d do best to go make yourself comfortable. I will make some tea.”

  
  
I nodded, heading towards the couch.


	9. An Unexpected Circumstance

 

Steam plumed over the top of a mug that I held tightly in my hands. I liked this mug. The design was of the Beatles singing in concert, neon lights beaming behind their forms. I wondered where Gaster had picked this thing up. He certainly didn’t seem like the concert type.

 

Before Gaster brought the tea, I’d found the coziest and most secluded corner on the couch and grabbed a fluffy pillow to cover myself, not wanting to disturb any of the nicely folded blankets on the couch arms.

 

Gaster walked in momentarily holding a mug and a starbucks silicone cup, handing me the mug and keeping the tall silicone one to himself. He then walked back into the kitchen to get something. Was that...coffee he was holding? He’d given me tea and made himself coffee? Huh. Strange man. I mean, I didn’t have a preference but it was still interesting to me that he’d decided to go for the default _tea_ instead of making coffee for both of us. No one really drank tea anymore, at least not in my experience.

 

So there I sat, holding a steaming cup, relishing it’s heat, and trying not to think about anything. I guess I did have the right to break down and cry again. Who wouldn’t?

 

But I already promised myself I wouldn’t cry in front of a stranger again. _Especially_ him. So I sucked it up.

 

_You’ve dealt with worse than this._

 

Yeah. Yeah I had.

 

_No time for the tears. Just listen to what he has to say. Life will go on._

 

I hoped it would. Maybe, just as it had all those other times, my life would move on and the pain would slowly go away with it. The disappointment and misery would dissolve and time would act as a numbing ointment to my soul. One day, maybe, I’d be able to look back on this moment, a happier person, and laugh about the whole thing. Well, maybe not laugh per say, but I wouldn’t feel hot-faced and teary eyed every time the thought came to mind.

 

_One day._

 

I jerked lightly as something soft hit the side of my body. My eyes followed the force.

 

A blanket?

 

I looked up to see Gaster sitting down across from me with his drink and a newspaper. Had he seriously just thrown a blanket at me?

 

“Hey, what was that for?” I asked, genuine curiosity hanging in my voice.

 

“You were covering yourself with a decorative pillow. It looked ridiculous.” He stated unemotionally.

 

I snorted, suppressing the laughter that threatened to break through me. “Well I’m sorry I offended you by going out of my way to not mess up those blankets you have there and instead using a couch pillow. My deepest apologies good sir.”

 

Gaster just stared forward, taken aback by my sudden sarcasm. “Fine, next time I won’t try to interfere with your lack of assertiveness and let you freeze. It won’t make a difference.”

 

I gaped. “Woah calm down, I wasn’t being ser-”

 

“This argument is completely pointless. Do you want an explanation or not?”

 

I huffed.

 

_Tsk. Someone’s grumpy._

 

It was a stupid argument. Though I had to admit I was a little ticked off at his ‘I don’t give a shit’ tone. No matter. Again, I’d get through to him sooner or later. I always did with stern people like that. Get to know them and eventually they’d open up to you. It’s how I made friends with Krista. Well, this situation was a little different being that this guy had no intension or being friends with me, but maybe I could get him to lower his guard a little.

 

“Alright fine. Go on.” I sighed, unwrapping the blanket hesitantly. It was warm to the touch, as if it had just come out of the dryer. I suppressed the urge to completely envelope myself in it’s warmth before the stern gaze of the man sitting on the other side of the couch.

 

Gaster straightened his posture and grabbed the newspaper once again.

 

“Catch.”

 

The paper glided into my blanketed lap. I picked it up, understanding immediately why he’d given it to me. The cover showed burning homes, people running, protests. Same old same old. But what caught my attention was the article about _my_ street.

 

**Apartment Building on**

**Bustling Evanson Street Burned**

**to the Ground Due to Hate Crime**

 

 **Two days ago, as many know, around five fires were** **started throughout spread locations in Ebott City.**

**All fires were put out as well as buildings salvaged, excluding**

**one apartment complex on Evanson Street. The building was**

**six stories, with around 150 residents including the mysterious**

**bar-fight-girl, according to investigative studies.**

 

_Damn. They just have gone through everyone’s profiles to find me, led alone with the quality of that video on the news._

 

**All residents in the building were forced to evacuate on the**

**spot. Due to these rapid efforts, no casualties were reported as of Friday when the tragedy**

**occurred. It was obvious that these fires where all**

**monster/human-related rivalries. But the real question was,**

**who were they targeting? Where the victims related in some way?**

**Fortunately investigators working around the clock have managed a breakthrough** **. A report from The Bureau of Investigative**

**Studies has released a report on the matter as of yesterday**

**(Monday), stating the affairs of the case. The report goes as**

**follows, “We have spent two days looking thoroughly at the**

**evidence regarding the five fires set in the city on Friday. A big**

**factor was that of the growing tension between the monster**

**and human races. With several fire-fuel containers found scattered**

**around the burn sites, we had no doubt that these crimes were all hate-related. The group behind the crime was likely a human gang,**

**which we will get into later. What we know for sure is that they**

**were all targeted at certain people after looking into the residents**

**of each building. Each building held at least one person who’d**

**been involved in some type of fight or intervention of a brawl between The two races. One example was the ‘Bar-Fight Girl’, who’s**

**identity had been confirmed to us after questioning people**

**on the fight scene. Coincidentally, this woman’s complex was**

**the only one to burn down. Another building was home to a man**

**who’d supposedly stood up for his moster friend by starting a fight,**

**resulting in both being sent to jail for a week...**

 

Oh.

 

_Oh._

 

I held a hand to my mouth and closed the newspaper, afraid to read any further.

 

_So...people are out to get us now?_

 

They were out to get the people that were standing between them and the war. Who were getting _publicity_ for contributing to the peace movement by stopping fights and standing up for others of the opposite race. Anyone who was publicly non-racist was now being discriminated against.

 

This was what it was coming down to.

 

You don’t want war? You are an enemy.

 

“This is worse than I could have imagined.” I said, rubbing my temples.

 

Gaster leaned forward, sighing. “Indeed. Though that isn’t-”

 

“Gaster, what am I supposed to do?”

 

...

 

“What?”

 

“I’m homeless, most likely jobless, there are gangs looking for me because of that stupid news report and I have nowhere to go other than my best friend's apartment but I don’t want to put her in danger by dumping my problems on her doorstep! I’m a danger to everyone I knew before and...” I took a breath. Gaster just stared forward, absorbing my words. “Sorry. I don’t know you, I don’t have a right to be dumping all of my issues upon you either.”

 

_Tsk. Idiot. You already have. Numerous times._

 

“Just...do whatever you want with me. Turn me in, kick me out, kill me, whatever. I don’t care. I’ve already been enough of a burden.” I looked away, face hot with an emotion I couldn't place. Anger? No…no closer to sadness. The bitter sadness one faces when coming to terms with reality.

 

I was spiraling again. It hadn’t mattered what I said or did before, trying to convince myself things would go on and heal. This was the present, and it was beginning to weigh on my heart.

 

This man didn’t care, and nor did he have any obligation to. I was just an inconvenience in his life, as well as everyone else’s now.

 

A pitiful little girl that brought bad luck wherever she went.

 

**[NARRATOR]**

 

Gaster sat in front of Y/N, arms crossed patiently. Studying her with a masked gaze that no one could see through but those he’d known a very long time.

He had to admit he felt pity towards you. He’d never seen someone so confused about their own emotions before. You were ranting aimlessly. Then a sudden wave of depression came over you. Your eyes began to dull, and you avoided eye contact.

 

“Do what you want with me.”

 

“Turn me in, kick me out, kill me, whatever. I don’t care.”

 

The scientist stiffened at this raw choice of words.

 

_Turn you in, kick you out, kill you._

 

As if there were only three options.

 

Gaster couldn’t understand. Why were you so fluid about your life? Even verbally giving consent to your own demise before someone as powerful as him? Well, not that he would kill you, or anyone who did not pose as a blatant threat for that matter. Your words still bothered him nonetheless.

 

But enough of the thoughtful nonsense.

 

He needed to get on with explaining what he had to offer.

 

**[Y/N]**

 

I was beginning to regret the things I’d said before. Gaster was now in a deep thought process. I was almost worried he’d taken my words as a sort of plea for help, which they weren’t at all. At this point, being kicked out or dying at the hands of a hot monster scientist didn’t sound too bad. In fact, it sounded way better than dying alone due to imminent heartbreak and trauma.

 

_Maybe I could ask about those kids-_

 

“I have a preposition for you.” Gaster said quietly, breaking the silence of my thoughts.

 

“Please, I can’t ask you to do anything else for me. You’ve already gone out of your way to do so much...technically we wouldn’t even know each other right now had you not saved me a week ago.”

 

“Well. I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, given the variables you’ve laid out so clearly about your own situation. And the public eye has no idea of our connections after the incident. This is the most secure place for both of us to be since those idiots exposed both you _and_ I on the news.”

 

_Mm..._

 

He had a point.

 

“I...I guess there’s no way I could argue with that.” I sighed. 

 

“...Ok. Fine. What is your preposition?”

 

Gaster, who’d somehow remained patient throughout my rambling session, leaned forward once again and rested his elbows on is knees to get at eye level with me.

 

“You could live here.”

 


	10. Oversized Sweats and a Decision to Make

_What?_

 

“What??”

 

Had he really just said…?

 

_I’m hearing things._

 

“You and your cat could live here. And as for a job, I am unsure of your intentions or resume but I could look into hiring you.” Gaster said in an almost robotically matter-of-fact tone.

 

_Oh._

 

He couldn’t be serious. Gaster looked no where near the type to joke, especially about something this far-reaching. But...I was having a hard time coming up with any other explanation for what he’d just said.

 

“Uh- I- I--What?” I could barely get words out for fear of unconsciously saying something around the lines of ‘yes’. I mean, shit! After all the hell I’d just been through, this guy was inviting me to live _here_???

 

Krista would have accepted Gaster’s offer the _second_ it left his lips. Imagine being told you could live with a considerably wealthy scientist who has a hot car and kids and a really nice house after living on a filthy crime-ridden street like I had for over six months? Then being told that he’d _additionally_ look into hiring you?

 

It was a pretty sweet deal, almost unrealistically so. And after giving it a bit of thought, I couldn’t ignore that the proposal was super suspicious. My father had taught me from a very young age never to go for things right off the bat. _‘Think about it. I mean really think about it.’_ He’d say. _‘The choices you make will affect the rest of your life in some way or another. So, if somethin’s wrong, or your gut is tellin’ you to stop, take your time and really consider where the causes of that decision will take you.’_

 

I’d held on to that wisdom for the rest of my life. My gut was telling me that there had to be some sort of catch. No way he was doing this purely out of ‘kindness’.

 

The scientist just gave a tired look, standing up with his mug. “I can understand why this suggestion of mine might seem off or strange to you, and let me assure you, you have free will to make whatever decision you feel entitled to making. I will give you time to contemplate my offer.”

 

I chuckled. “Well...please don’t take this the wrong way but this isn’t the first thing I’ve found a bit strange about this whole situation. I mean you took me back to your own house after the fire.”

 

Gaster seemed to tense ever so slightly at the statement, but gained control immediately. “It is as I’ve said. There are people who are after you in rebellion against the equality movement.”

 

Yes, he had said this and it made sense but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he’d ask for in return if I agreed. These were dangerous waters I was trending in, and I wasn’t in a hurry to give him an answer.

 

“...Alright. I’ll think about it.”

 

He nodded, standing abruptly.

 

“Oh, Dr. Gaster,”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Do you, uh, happen to have some clothes I could borrow?”

 

The state of my cleanliness had been in the back of my mind the entire time. I absolutely _hated_ feeling dirty, and being in bed for two days after having gone through all of that wasn’t helping my case. What made this even worse was the fact that all of my belongings had burned in the fire. I had no clothing, or bath supplies, or feminine products. Well, there was no way I was asking Gaster to go buy me any of those things. Krista would definitely let me borrow some stuff, so I’d have to wait until I saw her again, then go shopping for some long-term items. Until then, it didn’t hurt to ask if I could borrow something from this guy.

 

“I don’t mean to impose, but I’ve been in the same clothes for a while and I need a shower.” I smiled weakly. Why did I have to make things sound so awkward? 

 

“Hm...yes. I will lend you some clothes until you are able to buy your own things.” He said, looking at me sincerely.

 

His answer let me know that he knew he wasn’t responsible for me, contrary to how he’d shown himself before. I appreciated that.

 

“Okay thank y-”

 

My response was cut off by a flash of magic. Gaster was out of sight in seconds, completely unbeknownst to my perception of reality. _Did he just...teleport?_

 

I took a deep breath. I was really going to have to get used to magic if I was gonna be around this guy. I mean, I saw it frequently in the city, but never up close and personal. This scientist dude definitely seemed to know his way around magic. It was a rare thing to see, being that the many laws and regulations for magic that made it nearly impossible for a monster to do something out of the ordinary without being questioned immediately.

 

In the blink of an eye he returned with a pile of folded clothes in his hands, starting the living fuck out of me. “Jesus...” I cursed under my breath as my skin absorbed the energy. If living in this guy’s house meant I’d have to deal with him popping up out of nowhere like that, I was seriously going to consider living on the streets.

 

He bent down to hand the clothes to me. There was only a couple of black sweaters and a pair of grey sweat pants, to my relief. I observed them, realizing that (judging by the size of the clothes), these were belonging to the scientist himself. The wool sweater was incredibly long both in torso and sleeve length, and don’t even get me started on the sweats.

 

“The laundry room to the right of the kitchen and there is a bathroom next to your room. Oh, and take whatever food you want there is plenty for a person of your stature. I will be in my study.”

 

Maybe it was my imagination, but I was beginning to realize that Gaster’s attitude towards me had changed a lot since before the fire. He wasn’t snippy, or too upfront or irritable. No, this time his voice was soft, almost comically so because his voice was too low and rough to seem like it could ever get ‘soft’. He didn’t sound like he wanted to kill anyone this time. He was just...talking.

 

_Wait, did he say food?_

 

 _Shit, I am hungry._ Two days without food and you’d think I’d have noticed my empty stomach first hand. Clearly I was way too preoccupied, because the feeling of hunger that came after remembering that food existed hit me like a truck.

 

“Oh, thank you I’ll probably eat a little something,” 

 

_Lies._

 

“Uhm, goodnight!” I managed after realizing that he wasn’t going to respond to my side comment.

 

“Goodnight.”

 

_What a complicated response._

 

And with that the mysterious man disappeared once again into a thick cloud of magic.

 

_...Guess I’ll just get everything done then go back to sleep._

 

It was late, after all. And I knew I couldn’t be up all night while those kids (whom I’d been refraining to ask about throughout the time the scientist and I spoke) were trying to sleep. Well, hopefully I’d be meeting them soon. I needed to thank them for leaving that kind note on the foot of my bed.

 

With a sigh, I lifted my sore body away from the warmth of the couch, wrapping Gaster’s blanket around my shoulders and clutching the clothes under my armpit.

 

Before grabbing food and showering, I wanted to make sure Milky was okay. Part of me wanted to let her out, but it would have caused her even more stress since Gaster's house was still completely new to her. New smells and people. Though, if I accepted his offer I was sure she wouldn’t be disappointed in the new living situation after some warming up.

 

I peered into the room where Milky had retired under the safety of darkness. Clearly she was still a little freaked out by Gaster, given how she’d scampered away before he manhandled me a bit earlier. Who could blame her? I mean he had to be one of the most intimidating-looking people I had ever seen.

 

I saw her big eyes flicker in a glow, replicating off of the light running past me from the kitchen. Just as she recognized me, she ran up, brushing her head against my knee affectionately. I crouched to her level.

 

“I’m going to get ready for bed now, alright? I’m sorry I can’t let you out, but try to be good for me. I’ll come back first thing in the morning.”

 

She leaned into my hand understandingly as I stroked her.

 

“Night!”

 

I closed the door, feeling a bit of guilt lingering in my stomach. _She easily could have slept with me tonight_. But again, I didn't want to force her into getting used to something new after all she'd been through.

 

Soon hopefully this would all be over and Milky and I would be able to have our warm, quiet, aesthetic little city nights again. I’d turn off the TV, and we’d fall asleep to dim-lit glows and lo-fi hip hop from a cheap little speaker.

 

\-----------

 

The fridge was...almost as empty as mine was back in the apartment. If any fridge was near as empty as mine, there was need for concern. The only contents were milk, ketchup, a unopened beer (shoved into the very tallest and furthest corner of the fridge), tomato sauce, pickles and baking soda. Was this a joke? He didn’t actually think this was ‘plenty’ right?

 

_Maybe he has a pantry._

 

He did, and it was chock-full of food. _Good_ food.

 

Trying to be conscientious, I grabbed a medium sized bag of chips, apple sauce, oreos, and some cocoa puffs which I poured into a bowl I found in a cupboard. It wasn’t really enough for me right then and there, but I was feeling guilty and vulnerable about every little thing after losing my apartment, eating other people’s food was no exception.

 

After hopping onto one of the kitchen-island bar stools, I nuzzled myself into the large blanket I had and scarfed every morsel of food I’d gathered until nothing remained. I had to refrain from getting more, knowing that once my blood sugar went up I wouldn’t be nearly as hungry. The cereal bowl was placed carefully in the sink, and I decided it was already clean enough for me to run water over it. My eyes found the door to the laundry room, which was half open and resonating with a sound that I could only describe as a dryer running. I knew how normal it was for one to have their own washer and dryer, but that reality was untouchable for a low income city kid...

 _Stop that._ I scolded myself. There were too many things to envy in this house, and it wasn't worth dwelling upon.

 

I made a plan to shower, change, and then take my clothes to the laundry room to be washed. I just had to make sure I was quiet throughout the commencement of this plan. The stairs were carpeted and soundless. I was able to walk up them easily, despite my whole body aching under each pressing step.

 

The bathroom, just as Gaster had described it, was right next to the room I’d woken up in. It was relatively small, about the size of my old bathroom. But I had to assume the bathroom’s size was due to there being more than two bathrooms in the house, given the house's size. The floor tile looked new and very nice, with a white theme and shiny tint. The rest of the bathroom was outlined in black-themed tile and paint, which one may have found too dark but I personally liked it.

 

Once the door was locked, I looked in the mirror and cringed immediately. My face was stained with ash marks, eyes slightly bloodshot and outlined in a black color that symbolized how burnt out my body was. I looked exhausted. _Felt_ exhausted.

 

In a squeamish hurry I hastened the clothes off of my body, stood outside the conventional tub/shower (very much naked) and tried to figure out how the shower nozzles worked. After almost two minutes of fumbling with the stupid things, I found that turning the nozzle up and around was the only trigger to get the water going. I found the right temperature and hopped in, feeling complete bliss as the smooth water soaked my hair and trickled down my neck and shoulders. It felt like I hadn’t showered in ages, this would have to go down as one of the best showers I’d ever had. Before getting in I’d found an unused soap bar and some shampoo among the tiny culmination of things that were placed under the sink. I hoped Gaster didn't mind me panning through a few drawers in that bathroom, because it was mostly empty of any supplies other than towels and the contents in the cabinets.

 

I used the soap bar, then ran the shampoo through my hair a couple of times, for safety reasons. It took me a lot of strength to rip myself away from the warmth of the shower and into one of the hanging towels, but I did it knowing that I had a comfortable bed to go back to. I dried my hair and body, draping the towel over my back and slipping on Gasters clothes with ease.

 

 _Jesus, these are huge._ The size difference between the two of us was even more evident now that I’d put his borrowed clothing on.

 

 _Well, just have to run the dirty clothes back down then go to bed._ I thought, feeling incredibly drowsy due to the after-shower affects on my body.

 

I popped my clothes into the washer and threw a tide pod in. There weren’t any other laundry loads in there, to my relief. I just had to switch my clothes into the dryer the next morning and change so I could get Gaster’s clothes back to him.

 

After making my way back up the stairs, I took one last glance around the house. _Wow, living here would be pretty cool._ Again though, I couldn’t let myself give in too quickly. Things had to be weighed out and considered before I decided upon _living_ with this stranger and his kids. But that was all for the next day to come.

 

Right then, I needed sleep.

 


	11. Krista

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster, that cocky bastard

**[NARRATOR]**

 

Gaster woke up that morning leaning against his desk again. It must have been extremely early. He could just barely see the sun inching its way above the jagged black mountains in the distance. A lone star shown itself dimly over the silhouette, radiating alongside potent colors of red and orange that stained the clouds overhead. Living just outside of the crowded city did have its perks, and this was one of them.

 

The scientist himself was reluctant to find the scene pleasing before realizing that he’d left his window open the night before.

 

“Damnit.” 

 

Now his room was freezing. The heating bill was going to be through the roof that month, and Gaster knew those idiots charged extra towards monsters.

 

He sighed and shut the window drowsily. Gaster had lost count of how many times he’d fallen asleep at that desk, writing reports and creating plans for his future projects. In the beginning he tried to get himself to stop working such late nights because it caused him to be too tired throughout the rest of the day. Sans and Papyrus had to deal with his exhausted self in the small time frame he was able to spend quality time with them during weekdays. But work was piling up, and as much as Gaster hated being away from his sons, he wasn’t a man who liked to put things off. So he got used to the late nights, and eventually was able to suppress his exhaustion. After all, suppressing things was something he’d practically mastered by that point. It made things much easier too, being able to get everything done and have plenty of time to be with his children.

 

Today was going to be a drag. If you declined the king and queen’s offer (which you didn’t know was the king and queen’s offer yet), Gaster knew they’d ask him to find another person who would be willing to speak for monsters in your place. Once those two had a plan, they never backed out of it. 

 

For god’s sake, why did it have to be him? Why was he the one who had to do their dirty work now? He had a family and responsibilities of his own, led alone having to run an entire science facility. 

 

It had gone unsaid, but the king and queen had made Gaster their advisor of sorts. It was a high honor, yes. Gaster had nothing but respect for his royal friends who had practically raised him and his brother since they were kids. So when things started going south between monsters and humans, the king and queen turned to him. He was the royal scientist, after all. Not only was he loyal, but his job included listening to any and all orders given by them.

 

Being asked to let a woman live in his house with him and his young children was a bit much, though. He understood their reasons, and agreed with them mostly. But he wasn’t so keen on having to deal with another human, led alone in his own home. 

 

Well...you weren’t so bad. Annoying and extremely overly emotional at times, but polite enough. You posed absolutely no threat. And if, by some microchance you did pose as a threat to his family, well Gaster had deciphered just by taking one look at you that he could handle you with ease (Not that he wanted to, of course. He needed to make sure you didn’t feel threatened by him as well).

 

Gaster’s boss-level abilities in magic along with his speed and strength, were more than enough to scare off the few cunts that had dared come near him or his sons bearing insults and/or threats. It had been a long while since Gaster had come face to face with someone who’s power even came close to his own (other than Asgore). 

——

 

A temporary living space (depending on how long this war was going to last), wasn’t the only thing Gaster had been told to provide for you. He was also given orders to hire you in some way. But this he didn’t have a problem with since he had plenty of experience interviewing and hiring people in his job. You were no different. Besides, it was the perfect opportunity to get some type of formal contract involved with your stay in his home. He would be able to lay down an assortment of rules to be signed upon contracted terms, further ensuring that your relationship was to be strictly professional. If he was your employer, it would make things far more reasonable. 

 

The idea was courtesy of the queen, who'd heard of your unfortunate situation and immediately urged him to provide you with some sort of pay given that you were most likely out of whatever job you’d had before. Gaster knew the idea was only out of empathy from the queens kind heart, but nevertheless hiring you had countless plusses, and it would surely gain some of your vote for the monsters. Publicity like that was something they really needed at the moment.

 

He almost wished he’d told you this before remembering why he’d kept all of these things from you in the first place. If he waited and told you at the last moment, while you felt pressured, then you’d surely give in. Gaster didn’t use social tactics like that often. But when he did, he knew exactly what he was doing. Let them think about it, then when they’ve made a decision, hit them with the rest of your bargain. It worked every time.

 

_Perfect. Excellent._

 

Of course. This is why the royal family trusted him for these tasks. 

 

He was a genius.

 

**[Y/N]**

 

…

 

How was I supposed to react in this situation….

 

The air felt cold as I sat up, propped against a pillow that leaned on the back of the bed. I gripped the sheets, tilting my head curiously as two cautious eyes glared in my direction from around the doorframe. Not wanting to scare the little guy away, I refrained from making any sudden movements. 

 

I had woken up to the sound of my door opening, and since taken surprised notice to the small but lean child staring at me. He seemed frightened as he realized I was awake, resorting to staying mostly hidden from my view. I could only catch a small glimpse of his facial structure before being able to decipher that he was, in fact, a skeleton. This definitely left me a bit confused, given that his father -or so I’d assumed- didn’t have an appearance nearly as similar to that of a skeleton. Yes, he was a pure and pale white with a skull-like face and eyes, pitch black holding white beads of light. But he had skin, and visible muscles. This kid had the classic look of a regular skeleton, a monster type I’d only learned a little about in my Monster Cultures class back in freshman year of college. I knew almost nothing about them other than the fact that they were some type of hybrid that could only have male offspring, explaining why they were so rare and never purely bred. I remembered how headfucked I’d been about that back then.

 

~~

 

_“Hello Professor Smith, I wanted to ask you some follow up questions about our lecture earlier.”_

 

_“Oh, Y/N! Yes, please come in.”_

 

_“Thank you sir.”_

 

_“So what little questions have been buzzing in that bright mind of yours?_

 

_“Hehe, well um…You mentioned a monster type that couldn’t have female offspring. I couldn’t remember which so I traced the info back in the library and found that it was skeleton monsters. Is that correct?”_

 

_“Yes, that's right.”_

 

_“Could you tell me more about them?”_

 

_“Well yes, but I’m sure you’ve already figured out that there isn’t much information on them. As far as we know, they are still a bit of a mystery. I can only tell you what little has already been gathered from history books and vague recent information.”_

 

_“Of course sir. I’ll take whatever I can get, I’ve brought my notebook just for further reference.”_

 

_“Always the smart one, aren’t you. Alright. Well, obviously you know that they are the only monster type that is unable to reproduce properly. The poor things. It was believed that once, long before the Great War, they were a self sustaining population. But some defect must have caused an error in their reproduction, thus eliminating female skeletons. So this alone presents the fact that ‘skeleton monsters’ today are not purely skeletons. They are hybrids, that is the only way they were able to continue their bloodlines. It is still a mystery as to how the monster type has not been completely eliminated. They should have been cancelled out long ago. But one thing that may explain this is the theory that time in the underground ran much, much slower than time on the surface, therefore making it so that hundreds of years had already passed on the surface while only a few years had gone by in the underground due to magical barrier distortion an- oh, have I lost you?”_

 

_“Oh, oh no no, please continue! I was just processing the information, that’s all.”_

 

_“Haha, well there’s not much else to tell anyways. I believe you should get going now, Miss Y/N. Your next class should be on soon.”_

 

_“Oh crap, you’re right! Um, thank you for everything! I’ll try to see if I can gather anything else. Bye Professor Smith!”_

 

_“Goodbye Y/N.”_

 

_~~_

 

I was always on the go back then. And now that I thought about it, I hadn’t been able to find anything else on those skeletons. Seriously. It was a bummer too, since I’d been so excited to present them for my monster research project. I ended up choosing fire elementals instead.

 

Maybe Gaster would know a little more about the subject.

 

I blinked as the thoughts faded away. Right. Little kid standing over there.

 

“Hello there…”

 

He jerked, even at the softness of the tone that I was trying to portray.

 

“Hey…it’s alright I don’t bite. I swear.” I held up my hands. “My name is Y/N. What’s yours?”

 

He hesitated for a long moment, then finally stepped out into full view, lowering his head timidly. “I’m Papyrus.”

 

_Oh, this is the kid who made me that card!_

 

“Nice to meet you Papyrus! And I read your card, that was really sweet of you to make for me. Thank you.” 

 

“Oh, y-you’re welcome.”

 

He wasn’t giving me too much to go on. I decided to bring up Gaster instead of pry any further. The poor thing looked like he was about to crumble, and I wouldn't blame him. He must have been what, eight? Maybe nine with his height. Too young to be experienced in these types of social interactions. “Hey, is your dad...or whoever that guy is to you around? I need to speak with him, if that’s alright.” 

 

Papyrus narrowed his eyes a bit, seemingly contemplating his next words. “Um...Daddy told me you should be up by now, so he wanted me to give you this.”

 

_So he IS their father. Nice to finally know for sure..._

 

He walked towards me and held out a neatly folded piece of scratch paper, inked words visibly bleeding through the back. I took the paper cautiously, smiling at the sweet kid before opening it.

  


**Y/N,**

 

_That’s strange...pretty sure I haven’t mentioned my name once since we met..._

 

**I have left for work. Queen Toriel is most likely at the house already, so do not be surprised by her presence. She occasionally watches my sons Sans and Papyrus while I take extra work days to make up for lost time. Toriel knows very well of your current situation.**

 

**It has also come to my attention that you may need access to internet.**

 

**WiFi name: Larkspur**

**WiFi password: Fd65b77vAp4**

 

**My contacts should you need something:**

 

**Business: +1 xxx-xxx-xxxx**

 

**Personal: +1 xxx-xxx-xxxx**

 

**I will be home around 7:30. Toriel has meals planned.**

 

**Side note: In addition to our conditions earlier, should you agree to the terms and conditions I will lay out later, I will provide you with the extra money you need for optimal clothing and new living supplies until you are able to accumulate a stable job (which may or may not be provided in our contract depending on your resume and work experience).**

 

**As for your cat, I have already fed her as I have been feeding her for the past few days. If you feel the need to take her out do as you wish, as long as she does not damage anything in my house or cause a ruckus.**

 

**Oh. And if you are wondering how I know your name, I simply looked up your unconfidential records via the DMV.**

 

**Get acquainted with Toriel and my sons while I am gone. Your laundry is folded on the dryer.**

 

**Sincerely,**

**W.D Gaster Ph.D**

 

I lowered the letter, jumbles of confused sentences running through my mind almost faster than I could process. 

 

_Queen Toriel? As in THE QUEEN OF MONSTERS?!! Who the hell is this man? How does he have these connections? There’s no such thing as unconfidential DMV info, is there? Maybe his profession allowed him to access my files, like a detective or something. Jesus though, if he saw my name he had to have seen other things about me on my profile. Bit of an abduction of privacy there. Man I really hate those DMV bastards. And I really hope my phone doesn’t blow up when I type in that WiFi password. Krista must have freaked. I mean, if it was her I would’ve called every family contact of hers AND blown up her phone. But seeing as I don’t have any family contacts at the moment...she’s had no way of knowing where I was or if I was ok unless I responded to her. I’m really getting an earful from her now. At least I’ll be able to let Milky out of that damn room. It’s nice he did the rest of my laundry load too. And what about that other offer of Gaster’s? What, is he just egging me on to get me to agree now? I mean if not that’s pretty damn nice of him but-_

 

The kids voice broke clean through my rambling thoughts. 

 

“Mrs. Toriel and my brother are both downstairs, so...um...come down when you want!” 

 

There was a little more enthusiasm and energy in his tone there than before. He seemed to warm up to people pretty quickly. That was a good sign, at least.

 

“Thanks kiddo, I’ll see you guys down there in a bit!”

 

The nickname definitely warranted a smile from his boney cheeks. It was weird to see a skeleton smile. But adorable nonetheless. Papyrus nodded, then walked out with grace that was almost unfitting for a child of his age. 

 

_Hm._

 

Well, before jumping into any major social situation without any articles of clothing or hygiene materials to prepare myself, there were a couple things that needed to be done. First and most importantly, I wanted to get, in touch with my best friend who’d probably been worried shitless about me while my apartment burned to the ground and I went missing to the public eye behind the walls of a mansion-like house owned by a certain scientist who was offering me a place to stay, possible job, and expense coverage for future affairs. 

 

 _Jesus._ This was going to be a long, LONG conversation.

 

I punched in the WiFi code and awaited the flood of texts and calls.

 

_Ping._

 

_Ping. Ping._

 

_Ping ping ping ping ping PING PING PING PING—_

 

The vibrating sounds nearly overlapped as I opened my phone. 36 missed calls. 75 unopened texts. Instagram DMs too? _I owe her a drink at this point._

My hand moved to open the texts. 

 

**Side Chick**

 

**Saturday 8:56 PM**

**Y/N? What’s going on you left me high and dry at the mall today. What, did you forget? You owe me an explanation sister.**

 

**Saturday 10:47 PM:**

**Y/N!!! What the fuck is happening did your apartment just burn down? People are freaking out over here saying there fires all over and fights going on and jesus fuck I don’t know**

 

**Saturday 10:47PM:**

**Are you and Milky ok? Are you guys safe?**

 

**Saturday 10:48 PM:**

**ANSWER ME!**

 

**Saturday 10:48 PM:**

**PICK UP PLEASE!**

 

**Saturday 10:50 PM:**

**please answer**

 

**Sunday 7:21 AM:**

**I swear to god I’m gonna beat the shit out of you if you keep this disappearing act up we’re all worried sick and no one has seen you since you came to work on Thursday**

 

**Sunday 7:21 AM:**

**I’m spamming these calls until you pick up.**

 

Similar texts continued down the line on her end. I felt guilt begin to weigh in my chest as I realized just how worried she really had been. How could I do this to her? She’s been there for me since day one! I should have texted her what was going on! So naive...so STUPID!

 

I had to call her. 

 

My fingers tapped Krista’s number in furiously and hit call. 

 

Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeep.

 

There was sudden shuffling on the other end. 

 

“Y/N??? Is that you!”

 

“Krista I’m so sor-“

 

“Y/N! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD. HAVE YOU READ ANY OF MY TEXTS? HOLY SHIT! WHERE ARE YOU?!” Either the static on the other end was distorting her voice, or she sounded like she was about to cry.

 

“Oh my god, Kris I’m so sorry I should have contacted you before I got into this mess, I acted so irrationally…”

 

“Just just tell me where you are I need to know what happened. Everyone has been wondering where you are and I kept asking around but no one had any idea where you were, all I knew is that you had gone to say thank you to that scientist guy but there were riots happening at the science building too so I panicked and you weren’t answering so I tired to call the police but they said they were already on the case because of some other shit they were investigating about your apartment or something-“

 

“I know, I know. Milky and I got out just fine. I promise I’m alright. Do you have like 30 minutes? Because this is going to take a very long time to explain over the phone.” 

 

“Yeah. Everyone was given the day off today. The streets here aren’t safe here anymore. But go on. You really owe me one for scaring me like that.”

 

“I know. Drinks are on me this Saturday, as long as I have the money. I don’t know I may be out of a job at this point.”

 

“What? But Mrs. Grumpy Pissalot hasn’t fired you!”

 

“Just...let me explain.”

 

———

 

“He WHAT????”

 

“Yep.”

 

It was my second time around trying to explain the situation to Krista without her stopping me in the middle of something and having me rephrase. 

 

“So, let me just to a recap here.” I could almost see the skeptical grin on her face. She definitely was getting the tea spill she wanted.

 

“You’re telling me that you went to science guy’s work place by taxi.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Tried to thank him, when suddenly there was a rade on the fucking building and everyone was forced to stay in, making you trapped.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“You stay there a few hours, then people start setting fire to buildings and  you realize your apartment is burning to the ground with Milky inside,”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“So you bump into hot science man again while trying to escape and convince him to drive you to the building to rescue Milky in his ‘fine-ass car’.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“You then get there, run past the guards, find Milky, then realize he followed you and ended up saving Milky. You pass out at the scene, then wake up _IN HIS FUCKING HOUSE_ after being passed out for a couple of days.”

 

“...yeah.”

 

“And now, our cherry on top. He is making you an offer to live in his house, with his kids and him until you can get on your feet, and possibly hire you in the meantime.”

 

“Yep. And yep. I know it sounds sketchy as fuck, believe me I feel the same.”

 

“Y/N L/N. This goes far deeper than sketchy. There’s got to be a catch. And I’m not letting this shit happen until I meet the man in question.”

 

Well, despite her spazziness, Krista had some mom-like qualities about her. And it showed in times like these.

 

“Of course, and I’m telling you I feel the same. Although, I think you’re having the wrong idea in a sense. I mean, he isn’t gonna do anything weird to me. At least I’m 99% sure he isn’t. You know I’ve been through shit in my life and I’ve met people who’ve warranted extremely perverted tendencies. And this isn’t one of them.”

 

“I know...I know. I was joking before about how hot he was but, let’s be real you _don’t_ know him. I _don’t_ know him. Look, you’re my best friend and if anything happened to you because of some masculine figure, I’d go fucking comando. So, just keep your eye out over there. He’s probably gonna tell you the rest of the “bargain” or whatever you called it later on.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what I think. Oh, and I’m gonna go outside and figure out the address of this place. We need to go hardcore shopping, I mean all of my stuff is gone and I’ve had to barrow his clothes once already.”

 

“Oh, trust me girl I’ve got you. I’m writing a list of things you need as we speak. You’ll be stalked up there in no time. I’m giving you all my extra shit. Clothes, hygiene, everything. And shopping to go along with that. If all else fails, and this guy ends up being a complete weirdo, you’re coming to stay at my place. That’s final.”

 

“Oh...Kris you don’t have to-“

 

“Nope. Made up my mind. We’ve got each other’s back. What kind of best friend would I be if I wasn’t there for you like this?”

 

“...you’d still be the baddest bitch on the block, that’s for sure.”

 

There was laughter from both ends.

 

“You know I am. Now go do whatever the hell you said you had to do earlier. I’ll be awaiting that address, text me when you get it and I’ll Uber over.”

 

“Ok will do. And Krista?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Thank you. For everything you’ve done and been doing. I’d be a dead woman without you. This isn’t the first time you’ve saved my ass.”

 

“Well, it’s not like you haven’t saved mine a good thousand times either. Can’t have my bestie struggling over there.”

 

“Haha, yeah I guess you’re right. I’ll text you later ok?”

 

“Aight. Bye B.”

 

“Bye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I’m back. I’ll have you guys the details but it’s summer over here you could say I had a lot on my plate for a few weeks. But here I bring you an over 3000 word chapter. You've finally contacted Krista, and the queen of monsters is literally a floor below you.
> 
> Prepare for next chapter ;) there will be a lot more progression
> 
> Update: THANK YOU GUYS FOR 3k HITS!!!


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